Crisis and Emergency Contexts

Understanding the Context

Crisis and emergency contexts (Climate and Natural Disasters, Family Violence, Displacement) refer to sudden, disruptive events - such as climate-related natural disasters, family and domestic violence, and displacement. Climate change is making disasters and extreme weather events more common and worse in Australia: each year, on average, over 1.4 million children are impacted by disaster or extreme weather events, representing approximately one in six Australian children, with First Nations, remote and low-income children at higher risk (UNICEF Australia, 2024). In 2023–24, young children were most likely to be substantiated with emotional abuse, which was often related to exposure to family violence (AIHW, 2025b). Families affected by a disaster event that caused displacement as a result of a disaster, and refugee families displaced overseas before they can get to Australia for resettlement, can be affected by displacement. The sociological approach to crisis contexts is based on the assumption that crisis is an event or situation that triggers a high level of stress, with or without underlying economic, social and health vulnerabilities.

Impact on Children and Families

Crisis events are important chronosystems disruptions in the Bronfenbrenner model, which involve sudden, unexpected disruptions in a child's microsystem (home, safety, routines) and often cut off mesosystems (school, friends, and community). Studies indicate that between 5% and 43% of children who have experienced a disaster can have symptoms of P.T.S.D along with heightened anxiety, sleep disturbance, and regression in development (Emerging Minds, 2024b). With this in mind, the importance of children's safety needs being restored before they can play, explore, or learn is highlighted by Maslow's (1943) hierarchy. Disruption to education is also associated with climate disasters; an estimated 28,200 fewer Australian children complete school each year, as a result of exposure to climate disaster (UNICEF Australia, 2024). The Bowlby (1969) model of attachment states that the child's normal attachment to a place of security and safety is replaced, and that this is a great threat to the child's sense of security. The Australian context was explored in a national study of Australian child exposure to family and domestic violence (FDOV) by Mathews et al., (2023), which identified that nearly half of all Australians (39%) had been exposed to FDOV in childhood, noting that it was not an isolated problem, but rather a national crisis context.

Social Policy and Australian Responses

Australia has a national family violence plan and a plan for First Nations, Our Ways - Strong Ways - Our Voices (2026-3036), which guides the whole-of-government family violence response. A disproportionate burden of family violence on First Nations women and children (AIHW, 2025a) was a key driver of the National Plan to End VAWC. Specific plans for trauma recovery and healing programmes for children exposed to violence are part of the First Action Plan 2023-2027 (Department of Social Services, 2023). There is a national disaster early years response (Emerging Minds, 2024b) informed by the Community Trauma Toolkit and practice guidance supporting infants and children in disaster. Disaster preparedness/community level disaster recovery support is provided by the Australian Red Cross, including a disaster recovery program called REDiPlan. As per the National Quality Standard emergency and risk-management standards, it is becoming a requirement for services to be up-to-date in keeping with their emergency and continuity-of-operations plan.

Strategies for Practice

  • Seeking stability after the crisis: resume normal day-to-day activities as soon as possible to return children to a familiar routine and sense of security (Maslow, 1943).
  • Sensory-calm spaces: provide sensory regulation tools and quiet, low-stimulus areas for children who are showing signs of distress.
  • Include disclosure avenues for children - Provide safe, quiet room(s) where children can share information about safety at home with a clear disclosure protocol for mandatory reporting.
  • Family and community connection: encourage peer and family relationships and networks following disaster and/or displacement to help regain connections within the mesosystem.
  • Staff preparedness and self-care: Ensure that staff have an ongoing and established emergency management plan and practice strategies to ensure the wellbeing of staff, as they are regulated calm adults who will be better able to co-regulate distressed children.

Community and Professional Partnerships

  • A national family, domestic and sexual violence counselling and referral service: 1800RESPECT.
  • Australian Red Cross - disaster preparedness, response and recovery support (REDiPlan).
  • Save the Children Australia-emergency response/recovery programs for children.
  • Emerging Minds- Community Trauma Toolkit and resources for child mental health in disaster situations.
  • Local Child and Family Services intake points- intensive family support for families in crisis.

Resources for Educators and Children

Projects, Programs and Websites

  • Emerging Minds' Community Trauma Toolkit (emergingminds.com.au)
  • Australian Red Cross REDiPlan (redcross.org.au)
  • 1800RESPECT (1800respect.org.au)
  • Save the Children Australia emergency resources (savethechildren.org.au)

Children's Storybooks (Birth-5 Years)

  • Fire - Jackie French & Bruce Whatley
  • Flood -Jackie French & Bruce Whatley
  • The Invisible String -Patrice Karst
  • Hey Warrior -Karen Young

Videos, Shows and Podcasts

Critical Reflection

Each year, more than 1.4 million Australian children are vulnerable to climate disasters, with the impact hitting the hardest on First Nations, remote and low-income children (UNICEF Australia, 2024). The communities at greatest risk are those with the fewest resources for action.

Reference Lists (APA 7th Edition)

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2025a). Family, domestic and sexual violence: First Nations women and children. AIHW, Australian Government.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2025b). Child protection Australia 2023–24: Insights. AIHW, Australian Government.

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Hogarth Press.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

Department of Social Services. (2023). The First Action Plan 2023–2027: National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032. Australian Government.

Emerging Minds. (2024b). Community trauma toolkit: Supporting children after disasters. Emerging Minds.

Mathews, B., Pacella, R., Scott, J. G., Finkelhor, D., Meinck, F., Higgins, D. J., Erskine, H. E., Thomas, H. J., Lawrence, D., Haslam, D. M., Malacova, E., & Dunne, M. P. (2023). The prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia: Findings from a national survey. Medical Journal of Australia, 218(S6), S13–S18.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.

UNICEF Australia. (2024). Generation hot: Every child in Australia is exposed to climate hazards, and the poorest and most vulnerable will suffer most. UNICEF Australia.

1800RESPECT. (n.d.). National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. https://www.1800respect.org.au