Humanitarian Action

Grounded in the experience of five highly disaster-exposed countries: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, this Pacific Edition maps key civil-military coordination mechanisms at regional and national levels.

Tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu and surrounds in March 2015. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) led the Australian response, which also involved significant Defence engagement and the substantial use of military assets.

Between November 2018 and November 2019, the primary author conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 100 Syrian women in Jordan and Lebanon – host countries for large numbers of Syrian refugees (along with many Palestinian and Iraqi refugees) – and in Australia. The women were between the ages of 18 and 63; most were in their 30s and 40s. The primary author also interviewed people working with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

This document affirms the principles that guide the Australian Government and its stakeholders in international multiagency response efforts. It captures the best of the learning that has come from the Australian experience of contemporary operations overseas.

Responders to natural disasters face increasingly complex operating environments, characterised by new challenges and new actors. Global trends that are overwhelming the international humanitarian system come into sharp focus in South-East Asia.