About the study

Between November 2019 and February 2020, Victoria experienced a series of intense and devastating bushfires, while fires burned simultaneously across other States and Territories of Australia. This period of time is commonly referred to as ‘Black Summer’.

In late 2021, Emergency Recovery Victoria commissioned the University of Melbourne to undertake research into how people in bushfire affected communities were recovering.

The aims of the study were to:

• Understand individual recovery progress
• Understand community perceptions of recovery progress.
• Understand community satisfaction with recovery services.
• To identify ongoing recovery needs and priorities.

989 people from bushfire affected communities participated in the study in 2022.

Preliminary, descriptive findings from the study are presented in this report.

Report