Despite highly specialised and capable emergency management systems, members of the public are usually first on the scene in an emergency or disaster and remain long after official services have ceased. Citizens often play vital roles in helping those affected to respond and recover, and can provide invaluable assistance to official agencies. In Australia and New Zealand, however, emergency management has traditionally relied on a workforce of accredited volunteers who are affiliated with official EM agencies. Individuals and groups working outside of this system are often viewed as a nuisance or liability, and their efforts are largely undervalued. Given the decline of official volunteers within the EM workforce in recent years, it is likely that ‘informal volunteers’ will provide much of the additional surge capacity required to respond to more frequent emergencies and disasters in the future.

This paper examines the role of informal volunteers in emergency and disaster management in Australia and New Zealand. It explores the ways ordinary people volunteer their knowledge and resources to help others in times of crisis. Opportunities for and barriers to greater involvement of informal volunteers in emergencies and disasters are identified. We argue that more adaptive and inclusive models of emergency and disaster management are needed to harness the capacities and resilience that exist within and across communities.