Australia is a country endowed with natural resources such as coal, lithium, rare earths amongst other high-level commodities, which attract global trade opportunities viable for boosting its economy. Amidst its natural resources, Australia has been viewed as a prosperous nation in view of its standing in the Commonwealth of Nations. Nonetheless, the country still faces numerous challenges ranging from floods, heatwaves, bushfires, cyclones, and drought amongst other forms of hazards. While such hazards reverse hardly-won strides of development, other inter-related aspects of vulnerability which limit attributes of social capital poses tremendous challenges which impact on pre, during and post disaster interventions. By using causal loop diagrams, this study takes a systemic approach towards exploring emerging system structures; interdependence and interconnectivity; and institutional pressures, to unravel factors influencing Australia’s vulnerability to hazards with the aim of facilitating concerted interventions for reducing vulnerability and ultimately, the risks impeding sustainable development.

In view of the direct and indirect impacts of disasters on communities and their livelihoods, governments, the private sector and civil society organizations have been faced with tremendous challenges in identifying best practice solutions for revamping community functions in the aftermath of disasters. Although there are myriads of approaches for ensuring communities get back to normal including the ‘bouncing back’ or ‘building back better’ mantra, contemporary studies have scarcely discussed transitions from the traditional modes of livelihood recovery to digitization and other forms of ‘self-protection’ and ‘social protection’ where individuals and communities are empowered to reduce risks and their own vulnerability in response to shocks and amidst an ailing global or local economy. This scholarly piece therefore explores sustainable livelihoods recovery in the context of rethinking a systemic approach to recovery that is more inclusive, empathic and considers neutrality in humanitarian interventions. It builds on the foundational and contemporary works of founding and contemporary disaster risk management researchers and risk governance policy experts to shed more light on facilitating accessibility to improved and sustainable humanitarian interventions particularly in rapid and slow-onset disaster recovery.

The unprecedented nature of flood impact on populations globally is a challenge for government organisations. Similarly, the consequences of inaction to address rapid urbanisation, unequal economic development, regulatory defiance, resource constraints, flood risk reduction policy gaps and other forms of systemic risk is coming at a huge cost to individuals, the private sector, governments and communities. The complex, uncertain, interrelated and multi-dimensional nature of flood risk necessitates the redevelopment of established urban centres of heritage, cultural and economic significance, which leaves behind residual risks that undermine the efforts of international humanitarian development initiatives and governments to address pre-existing risks. Using a qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews from public sector organisations and international non-governmental organisation projects, this paper argues for a systemic redevelopment of institutional approaches to flood risk reduction. This is achieved through thematic analysis of participant views on institutional pressures and the nature of interacting systems and arrangements influencing flood mitigation responses and access to social and self-protection. This paper offers a framework that provides insights valuable for rethinking non-structural approaches to flood risk governance.

The unprecedented nature of flood impact on populations globally is a challenge for government organisations. Similarly, the consequences of inaction to address rapid urbanisation, unequal economic development, regulatory defiance, resource constraints, flood risk reduction policy gaps and other forms of systemic risk is coming at a huge cost to individuals, the private sector, governments and communities. The complex, uncertain, interrelated and multi-dimensional nature of flood risk necessitates the redevelopment of established urban centres of heritage, cultural and economic significance, which leaves behind residual risks that undermine the efforts of international humanitarian development initiatives and governments to address pre-existing risks. Using a qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews from public sector organisations and international non-governmental organisation projects, this paper argues for a systemic redevelopment of institutional approaches to flood risk reduction. This is achieved through thematic analysis of participant views on institutional pressures and the nature of interacting systems and arrangements influencing flood mitigation responses and access to social and self-protection. This paper offers a framework that provides insights valuable for rethinking non-structural approaches to flood risk governance.