Join the Ready Reserve
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What is the Ready Reserve?
Make a difference for Queenslanders when it matters most.
When disasters happen in Queensland, it’s the Community Recovery Ready Reserve who steps in to support vulnerable individuals and families. We respond to disaster in all its forms: from floods, fires and cyclones to outbreaks of disease.
The Community Recovery Ready Reserve is a workforce of approved public servants from across Queensland Government departments who volunteer for deployment during disaster recovery efforts. They help individuals and families with:
- Providing disaster-specific information to help communities navigate the recovery process
- Connecting individuals and families with relevant support services, and
- Assisting with applications for financial assistance grants.
As a Community Recovery Ready Reserve member, you’ll be part of a workforce supporting communities affected by natural disasters or other emergency incidents.
You will be involved in the Community Recovery phase which begins once the area is deemed safe. Your role is to help people rebuild emotionally, practically and financially.
Deployment looks different for everyone. You may:
- work directly with community members in disaster-impacted areas, or
- be based in Brisbane supporting operations behind the scenes.
Who can join
A diverse workforce with a range of backgrounds and experiences is key to helping Queensland’s diverse and multicultural communities who may be especially vulnerable after a disaster.
We need people:
- of all ages
- from all backgrounds
- who can speak a language other than English.
There are a range of roles available and your agency key contact can provide more information.
Your role as a Ready Reserve
Ready Reserve staff provide support to communities affected by natural disasters including bushfires, earthquakes, floods, cyclones and severe weather events such as monsoon troughs. They also provide support to emergency incidents.
The response phase of disaster operations focuses on saving lives, protecting property and making an affected area safe. Response is undertaken by several organisations, including state emergency service units, police, fire and ambulance services, the defence force and local government counter disaster committees.
Community Recovery focuses on recovery after the initial response.
The contribution you make as a Ready Reserve is important in helping Queenslanders get back on their feet. Being a Ready Reserve gives you the opportunity to deliver much-needed support and assistance to people in need, demonstrating compassion and understanding in trying times. Working with disaster-impacted communities can be tough but it's also rewarding.
What to expect as a Ready Reserve
Deployment looks different for everyone. You may be deployed to a disaster or incident-impacted area where you work directly with community members, or you may be asked to work behind the scenes in operational or corporate support roles.
Every role is critical to providing support to a community as they recover from a disaster or incident.
Ready Reserve members undertake roles within an impacted community through two key teams:
- Deployed to assist the impacted regions in Community Recovery hubs and coordination centres
- Business support/office roles – Brisbane-based or in impacted regions.
Where possible, we will pre-identify the role you have been allocated but this is subject to change, and you will be required to undertake any role assigned to you in the interests of supporting the event.
On arrival at your deployment location, you will receive final confirmation of your role based on local needs and you are expected to undertake the role allocated to you.
Typical roles and responsibilities
Recovery hub worker / Regional service delivery support
Located in a hub, pop-up or support services location to:
- Provide disaster-specific advice
- Support outreach visits with partners to affected households
- Assist with psychological first aid
- Refer people to government and NGO services
- Help complete financial assistance (grant) applications
- Verify damage to support grant eligibility
Other roles
- Team Leaders and Managers
- Training delivery
- Grants processing officers
- Logistics coordination
- Client support services and administration
- Workforce management coordination
- Business support and finance
- Communications
- Planning and reporting
Important points to note:
- Disaster events can be unpredictable. The size and scale of an event may result in changes to deployments at short notice.
- You need to be flexible, open to change and prepared to work additional hours in a disaster-impacted location to meet demand. Working on weekends and public holidays may also be required if your deployment period extends across those days.
- Roles can change according to the circumstances. You may not be assigned the role you were initially deployed for.
- You may be asked to perform an alternative role at short notice or if the need arises.
How to join
To join the Community Recovery Ready Reserve, you must:
- Get support and endorsement from your manager by filling out the nomination-management endorsement form (DOCX, 201.9 KB)
- Complete the Ready Reserve Management System registration
- Complete the mandatory online learning program.
An agency key contact approves your registration to become a Ready Reserve member.
About deployment
Information about being deployed to support an event activation is available in the Ready Reserve Welcome Pack (PDF, 361.5 KB) .
Contact
- Email your interest in joining to: community.recovery@communityrecovery.qld.gov.au
- Contact your agency key contact.