Public readiness

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups work together to educate and motivate New Zealanders to be better prepared for emergencies.

National Public Education Programme

The National Public Education Programme is how NEMA and CDEM Groups do public education and support public readiness. The current programme is guided by research and best practice. It is designed to be adaptable.

Previous versions have included formal strategies. The current programme is not tied to a formal strategy. It is intended to be flexible. The current programme focuses on:

  • ensuring emergency preparedness is part of everyday life
  • being inclusive of everyone in New Zealand, and
  • supporting community preparedness.

It aims to have more people in New Zealand:

  • know what hazards and risks could affect them,
  • know the correct actions to take during and after natural hazards, and
  • understand and have taken steps to be better prepared for emergencies.

Past programmes


GetReady.govt.nz

GetReady.govt.nz is New Zealand’s emergency preparedness website. It has advice on getting ready for an emergency and what to do before, during and after:

  • earthquakes, 
  • floods, 
  • landslides, 
  • space weather, 
  • severe weather, 
  • tsunami, 
  • volcanic activity, and 
  • wildfires. 

Visit getready.govt.nz


National Public Education Reference Group

The National Public Education Reference Group (NPERG) us made up of representatives from NEMA and each CDEM Group. It plays a key role in developing long-term strategy for the public education programme. And it supports consistent and collaborative public education. 

Find out more about NPERG.


Resources

There are lots of resources available for emergency management professionals promoting public readiness.

Consistent Messages for CDEM

Consistent Messages for CDEM is a suite of nationally-agreed messages to help people increase their resilience to hazard impacts.

Read Consistent Messages for CDEM.

Media library

The NEMA Media Library is a central hub for emergency management assets and resources for emergency management professionals. You can use these resources provided you abide by the Terms of Use, Brand Guidelines, Licence conditions and Usage instructions for each asset.

Visit the NEMA Media Library.

Get Ready website

The Get Ready website (getready.govt.nz) has information for the public on: 

  • How to get ready for an emergency at home, at work and at school. 
  • What the different natural hazards are in New Zealand and what you should do before, during or after each one. 
  • How to stay informed in an emergency. 
  • How to get involved and get your community ready. 

Visit GetReady.govt.nz

Merchandise webstore

Concept Partners has a merchandise webstore with Get Ready and Civil Defence branded products. 

Although all products on this webstore are approved by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Concept Partners is not formally endorsed by NEMA. 

Visit the merchandise webstore.

Research and evaluation

Since 2006, NEMA has commissioned an annual preparedness survey. These results and other public education research documents are available for download.

Read the full research and survey reports.