Happy New Year from everyone at Floodplain Management Australia!

As we start a brand new year, it’s a good time to say thank you for your support of FMA and reflect on all the fantastic work we have achieved in the past year. I am so proud to share that together, we have (in no specific order of importance and I’ve probably missed something!):

• after more than 60 years of annual conferences, we held our first National Conference in Melbourne, with 485 registrations (equal to second highest attendance in Brisbane in 2024; highest was Sydney with 500) with 106 oral presentations and 40 poster presentations.
• celebrated excellence in flood risk management at the 2025 FMA National with the 2025 FMA Excellence Awards, Harold Sternbeck Medal and YFM Outstanding Presenter Awards.
• commenced preparations for the 2026 FMA National Conference in the Gold Coast with the establishment of the Steering Committee and the Program Advisory Committee (including in-kind support from Gold Coast City Council). Call for Abstracts have closed with a record number of 200 abstracts received and Early Bird Registrations are now open.
• hosted 6 successful and well-attended Quarterly Meetings and Workshops in Sydney and Brisbane with several new agencies joining the meetings to update and share their activities with members. Workshops included:
  • Making Queensland more resilient following the 2022 flood event, and the next steps (Brisbane February 2025)
  • NSW Shelter in Place Guideline for flash flooding: Should I stay or should I go? (Sydney February 2025)
  • What happens when the worlds of planners and engineers collide? A Queensland perspective (Brisbane August 2025)
  • A three part Technical Workshop in Sydney (August 2025):
    • Access for Maintenance to Creeks, Stormwater Assets and Flood Mitigation Assets on Private Land — Legal Issues and Practicalities
    • Analysing the Broader Risks of Publicising Flood Information — A Council Case Study
    • Update on Draft FMA Fact Sheet on Overland Flow
  • Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Flood Risk Communication for Safer Communities (Brisbane November 2025)
  • Updates to the Implementation of Climate Change Guidance since the Release of Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) Version 4.2 (Sydney November 2025)
• prepared the 2025 FMA Operating Plan (adopted at February QMs).
• held an Executive Planning Session in November 2025 to plan for the 2026 Operating Plan and beyond.
• Together with Stormwater Victoria, ran our first joint technical and networking event in February 2025 on the 2024 Climate Change Update to ARR in Melbourne.
• Prepared a joint FMA/PIA (Planning Institute of Australia) submission to the Queensland Government to provide our joint support for continued floodplain management action in Queensland.
• Represented FMA at numerous industry events and working group meetings:
  • The Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) Assisted Relocation Community of Practice involving researchers and practitioners involved in assisted relocation policy, practice and research from Australia, the United States, New Zealand and Canada
  • Expert panel on the NHRA, September Hazardous Webinar entitled 'Research Lessons from the Texas floods'
  • The Industry Working Group for the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Regional Risk Based Land Use Planning Approach project and provided comments on the first stage of the 6 stage process
  • Flood Warning Consultative Committees in Queensland, NSW and Tasmania
  • The Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) NSW Stakeholder Forum in Sydney in February 2025
  • The Stormwater Victoria Annual Conference, Wangaratta in June 2025
  • The US Association of Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) annual National Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • The Queensland Flood Community of Practice (CoP) tour of South East Queensland and NSW Northern Rivers with the delegation of ‘floodplain managers’ from Fiji. The delegation’s knowledge exchange was hosted by Griffith University’s International Water Centre and the Flood CoP, and facilitated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
  • NSW Floodplain Management Grants Assessment Committee.
• supported our partnership with University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in the delivery of the Introduction to Floodplain Risk Management Short Course.
• further developed the expansion of the NSW Introduction to Floodplain Risk Management Short Course into Queensland with the preparation of a draft course outline and meetings with potential tertiary education partners.
• initiated a Project Working Group to explore options and develop a business case for Professional Accreditation for flood risk management practitioners.
• released the FMA Overland Flow Fact Sheet following ongoing collaboration with the Project Working Group.
• prepared feedback on behalf of FMA on the draft Wianamatta South Creek Cumulative Impacts on Flooding Policy.
• investigated and visited options for venues for the FMA 2027 National Conference in Sydney.
• supported and further developed the Young Floodplain Managers' (YFM) Network. This included participating as a Mentor at the YFM Speed Mentoring Session in June 2025.
• continued our advocacy and knowledge sharing for sound flood risk management practices through our:
  • ongoing engagement with local government, a wide range of state agencies, Bureau of Meteorology, Insurance Council of Australia, National Emergency Management Agency and through submissions with government inquiries and the like.
  • understanding and keeping up to date across a broad range of contemporary flood risk management issues and contentions in land use planning, disaster recovery activities, resourcing and funding, community awareness and engagement, funding of flood risk management measures, emergency response, climate change risk and adaptation and industry best practice.
• involvement in projects such as the NSW Northern Rivers Disaster Adaptation Plan.
• distribution of 12 FMA Monthly Flyers to keep Members continuously updated on FMA activities and issues in the flood risk management space.

We look forward to working with you in 2026!

Sue Ribbons

FMA President

Conference Keynote Announced

We are delighted to announce that Emeritus Professor Barbara Norman is our first confirmed Keynote Speaker for the 2026 FMA National Conference.

Professor Norman is a global expert and adviser on sustainable cities and regions, smart infrastructure, climate change adaptation and urban governance. 

She is Emeritus Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Canberra, a Director of the Urban Climate Change Research Network Oceania Hub (Columbia University, USA), co-chair of Planners for Climate Action (UN Habitat), and a member of the World Cities Knowledge Council (Singapore). 

Further Keynote Speakers will be advised at the FMA National Conference website: https://floodplainconference.com

Have you registered yet? 

Early Registration is now available at floodplainconference.com until 6 March. FMA Members also receive discounted registration rates, so if you are a current FMA Member, or belong to an FMA Member organisation be sure to include your Member number when registering. If you are unsure of your Member Number, contact us at projectservices@floods.asn.au.

A special thanks to the sponsors who have confirmed so far:

Silver: Water Technology, HARC, NSW SES

Bronze Coffee: AQX Solutions

Bronze Conference Dinner: Haskoning

Casual Dinner: WMAwater

Lanyard: Rhelm

Conference App: JBP

Charging Station: BG&E

Stationery Sponsor:  Allan & Dennis

Trade Exhibitors: Australian Concrete Mats, AWMA Water Control Solutions, Spatial Innovation, TUFLOW, AWS Australian Water School, Jacobs, Natural Hazards Resource, waterRIDE.

If you are interested in showcasing your organisation at the Conference, visit 

https://floodplainconference.com/sponsors-and-exhibitors/

AWMA, together with industry experts, has recently completed the Australian Industry Flood Barrier Guideline.

The Guideline was developed to equip stakeholders with essential knowledge, which assists with informed decision-making, ensuring the selection of site-specific flood mitigation solutions that effectively protect people, property, and infrastructure from the devastating impacts of flooding.

You can view the Guideline at www.floodfree.com.au/flood-barrier-guidelines.