The NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre (BNHRC) is a state-focused collaboration between the NSW Government, research institutions, land and emergency management agencies and Indigenous knowledge holders. 

Funded by the NSW Government, via the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the Centre brings together response agencies, policy makers, Traditional Owners and public land managers to co-design research with universities that benefits NSW communities and the environment. 

The research consortium is led by Western Sydney University (WSU) in partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Wollongong (UoW), University of Tasmania (UTas), University of Melbourne (UMelb) and the Australian National University (ANU). 

The administration and knowledge exchange is led by a team within the Applied Bushfire Science Program (ABSP) at DCCEEW, who focus on ensuring the translation and application of the research outcomes into new policy and practice. 

In response to the recommendations of the 2020 NSW Bushfire Inquiry and the 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry – and emerging issues – the mission of the Centre is to generate high quality, co-designed research and evidence to improve real-world practice in bushfire and natural hazards management – in the face of a changing climate and increasingly complex social and ecological challenges.

The BNHRC builds on the important legacy of its predecessor, the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, which ended in 2022.  

More information on the former NSW Bushfire Hub can be found at https://www.nsw-bnhrc.org/legacy-research

Director: Associate Professor Rachael Nolan (WSU)

Deputy Director: Associate Professor Rachael Gallagher (WSU)

Research Manager: Philip Sen (WSU)

Senior Knowledge Exchange Officer: Associate Professor Mel Taylor (DCCEEW)

Senior Knowledge Exchange Officer: Dr Chai Pathmeswaran (DCCEEW)

Project Officer: Shantel O’Loughlin (DCCEEW)

Website: www.nsw-bnhrc.org 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nsw-bnhrc 

BNHRC partners