Australian responses to international, complex emergencies and humanitarian crises, generated by natural disaster, conflicts or incidents, demand the coordinated responses of multiple civil-military-police actors and agencies.
The Concepts and Capability Directorate integrates cross-agency programs on emerging civil-military-police concepts with research and initiatives building capability through preparedness, lessons and evaluation, and humanitarian-government coordination. The Directorate also includes ACMC’s Business Operations and Governance functions.
Civilian agency participation in military exercises has increased over the last ten years. This is a welcome development as exercises provide a platform to strengthen Australian whole of government crisis prevention, preparedness and response capability.
"Social networking and social media are playing an increasingly important role in responses to complex emergencies and natural disasters. The recent ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have highlighted aspects of
citizen-led networking and communication that have captured the world’s attention."
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.