The theme for the May 2025 FMA National Conference has been set: “Flood knows no boundaries”, highlighting that floods can affect any area, emphasising the importance of collaboration across states, regions, catchments, communities, and sectors to effectively address and manage flood risks. 

FMA2025 will be a groundbreaking event, our first National Conference to be hosted by our colleagues in Victoria. For many years Victorian FMA Members have supported our Conferences around NSW, the ACT and Queensland, now it’s our turn to learn first hand from their wealth of urban and rural flood risk management experience.

The Conference will be held at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park, from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May 2025, with optional pre-conference workshops on Tuesday 13 May.

The Call for Abstracts is now open, and presentations on the following topics are invited:

• Flood forecast and warning
• Managing growth and land use planning
• Infrastructure projects and asset management
• Flood policy, guidance and best practice
• Emergency preparedness, response and recovery
• Flood case studies and stories
• Environmental aspects, climate change, coastal hazards and adaptation
• New technology and research
• Flood damages and insurance
• Cultural perspectives (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori)
• Social sciences, human behaviour and communication.

The content can be technical or non-technical to suit our varied audience, so you don’t need to be a “flood expert” to provide a presentation. The practical experiences of Councillors, flood committee members and community representatives can be of real value to fellow conference attendees.

Please start preparing your presentation now!

Details are at: floodplainconference.com

164 successful projects under Round Two of the Australian Government's Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) have been announced. Round Two of the DRF will provide $200 million of Australian Government investment, to be jointly funded by state, territory or local governments. 

The projects are intended to reduce disaster risk and build long-term resilience. Projects include an aboriginal peoples’ engagement program, disaster adaptation preparedness programs, mental health training, live stream flood monitoring cameras, upgrading warning systems and construction of the South Albury Levee Upgrade.

Successful projects are listed at the National Emergency Management Agency website:
nema.gov.au/our-work/key-programs/disaster-ready-fund

FMA is keen to connect with Councils in regional Queensland, and has previously held meetings at Rockhampton and Townsville to get to know local issues and flood risk managers.

This November we will be visiting Bundaberg, and are looking forward to meeting FRM colleagues from the region. Thank you to Bundaberg Regional Council for hosting the event and showcasing some of the local flood issues and solutions.

More details will be available soon.

Please try to get to Bundy for what will be a great information sharing and networking event. And if you can’t get there in person, the Meeting will be accessible online, as usual.

Please lock in Wednesday 6 November.

Then don’t miss the next FMA Workshop in Sydney: Flood Insurance and Review of FMA/ICA Flood Insurance Fact Sheets.

As discussed at the August FMA Meetings FMA Communications Director Cath Walker has established a project working group to review and update the Flood Insurance Fact Sheets which are hosted on FMA’s website. The working group includes representatives from the Insurance Council of Australia, IAG, the National Emergency Management Agency, the NSW Reconstruction Authority and Blacktown City Council.

FMA Members have contributed a long list of frequently asked questions which are being addressed by the ICA and insurers. The FMA Workshop will be used to update Members on progress, and to gather feedback to assist in finalising the project. 

The Workshop will cover the role of flood insurance, current insurance issues, the information needs of stakeholders and end users, and how the information should be made available.

Recent Sydney FMA Workshops have been so popular that we have been unable to accommodate everyone who wished to attend, so for the 14 November Quarterly Meeting and Workshop we are moving to the more spacious Mercure Hotel, Sydney. 

Please reserve 14 November for the NSW/ACT Chapter Quarterly Meeting and Flood Insurance Workshop. 

Of interest to Members following the August FMA Climate Change Workshops will be a fact sheet recently published by the Climate Systems Hub addressing extreme rainfall.

The Climate Systems Hub was established in 2020-21 under the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. It provides research to advance the understanding of Australia’s climate, its extremes and associated drivers, including the fundamental drivers of rainfall, drought and bushfires, and inform climate adaptation solutions.

The hub regularly publishes reports, journal articles and fact sheets on climate related issues. Some of the publications which may be of interest are:

Why El Niño doesn’t always mean drought: How climate drivers and weather interact

Extreme climate explained: the triple La Niña and extremely wet conditions 2020-2022

Will extreme rainfall events become more intense in the future?

For more information about the Climate Systems Hub and its publications go to: nesp2climate.com.au/resources

Pictured: Delegates at the 2024 National FMA Conference Casual Dinner at Sydney, sponsored by WMAwater.

FMA and the FMA Young Floodplain Managers (YFM) regularly host various professional development and networking events including Quarterly Meetings, workshops, social events, tours and webinars. Activities presently being planned include YFM End of Year Events at various locations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

FMA is now seeking sponsors and partners to join us in delivering any or all of these activities.

If you are interested in discussing opportunities to work with FMA to improve the knowledge and skills of floodplain management practitioners, and raise the profile of your organisation, please contact Executive Officer Glenn Evans: eo@floods.asn.au

The FMA Young Floodplain Managers (YFM) network exists to represent, engage, and inspire young floodplain management professionals across Australia. 

Whilst the YFM's mission is to represent, engage, support and inspire young floodplain management professionals across the nation, anyone who supports this objective is welcome to apply for membership of the YFM and engage in the group's actions, irrespective of their age or level of experience. 

Are you interested in finding out more? You can connect with the YFM by visiting the YFM Linkedin page here or submit a YFM Membership application at floods.asn.au/yfm.

Did you know YFM Webinars and Online Panel recordings can be found in the Members' Section of floods.asn.au? If you haven’t registered for the Members’ Section, contact us to get your login details.