Mutual Aid in Times of Crisis. Case Study: Australia
Publisher: Groupe URD
Author(s): Claire McLisky and Emma Pittaway
Date: 2025
Topics: Climate Change, Cooperation, Disasters, Humanitarian Assistance
Countries: Australia
This report considers the forms, characteristics and dynamics of mutual aid, and the relationship between mutual aid and official responses, in Greater Uki, located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Over the past five years, Greater Uki has experienced a series of compounding climate-related crises, including two unprecedented events: large bushfires in 2019-20, and a major flood in 2022, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. These crises have had an enormous effect on the area, with the loss of life, houses, possessions and ongoing mental health impacts, and have given rise to various forms of mutual aid, both spontaneous and organised.