VillageFirst · Community Resilience

Community Profile — Input

Work through each section with your community. Aids under each heading point to the data sources. The Summary Sheet builds itself as you go.

Demonstration prototype — Smiths Lake pattern, generalised for any community
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Privacy — two-tier model. Tier 1 (this form): aggregate numbers, facilities, hazards and capability only — no names, addresses or personal details. This tier may be shared and generates the Community Profile Summary Sheet. Tier 2 (held locally): contact lists and support-network detail stay with the CRN Chair and are never entered here.

1. Community overview and snapshot

Who is here — the first thing any agency asks.

Where to find this
  • ABS QuickStats — search your suburb or locality name for population, age profile, dwellings and industries (Census 2021).
  • ABS Data by Region — population estimates between censuses.
  • Many councils publish a community profile via .id community profiles — check your council's website.
  • Peak occupancy has no official source — estimate locally from holiday-let stock, caravan parks and peak-weekend observation.

Smiths Lake example: 1,332 residents (ABS 2021); approx. 1,000 dwellings incl. holiday homes; peak population approx. 3,000–3,500.

2. Community map

Annotate an existing map, or record key points — agencies think spatially.

Where to find this

3. Access, egress and isolation

What cuts you off, at what threshold, and for how long.

Where to find this
  • Live Traffic NSW — current and historical road closures on your access routes.
  • Local knowledge is the primary source: which storms have closed which roads, and for how long.

Smiths Lake example: single sealed access (Macwood Rd); powerlines down close the road until made safe by Essential Energy; two gated 4WD-only fire trails, contingency use only.

RouteType / statusWhat closes itTypical closure

4. Utilities and infrastructure dependencies

What fails first, and what fails next because of it.

Where to find this
  • Essential Energy outage map (or your distributor) — outage history hints at feeder reliability.
  • Telstra coverage map and equivalents — mobile blackspot confirmation.
  • Your council's water services pages — supply arrangement, and whether sewer pump stations are power-dependent.
ServiceSupply arrangementSingle points of failureBackup arrangements

5. Hazards and risks

Rate each hazard for likely impact on this community — your rating, not a generic one.

Where to find this
  • NSW SES — local flood and storm plans.
  • NSW RFS — bushfire risk and Fire Danger Ratings.
  • AdaptNSW projections — how hazards trend for your region.
  • Your Local Emergency Management Plan (EMPLAN) — ask your council's LEMO.
Hazard / riskLowMediumHigh
HazardWhat could happen?Who could be affected?What can we do now? (→ action register)

6. People and vulnerabilities (aggregate only)

Approximate numbers and levels only — never personal details in this tier.

Where to find this
  • In ABS QuickStats, look for: median age and age bands; lone-person households; "core activity need for assistance"; dwellings with no motor vehicle; languages used at home.
  • Power-dependent medical equipment has no public source — an anonymous community count is the standard approach.

Keep every entry aggregate: "approx. 40 households", never a name or address.

CategoryEstimate / levelNotes

7. Community facility capability

Where people can gather — and whether it works with the power off.

FacilityCapacityPower / generatorWater / amenitiesCommsNotes

8. Assets and equipment

What the community already holds against its risks.

AssetLocation / availabilityNotes

9. Community skills

People are the deepest asset register.

10. Capability gap analysis

Connect the priority hazards to what you hold against them. Every gap becomes an action.

Priority hazard (rating)What we needWhat we haveGapRef

11. Community contacts (Tier 2 reference)

Roles only here. Names and numbers stay with the CRN Chair — never on this page.

RoleDetail location

12. Action register

Owned, dated, and reviewed annually — this is where the workbook becomes a plan.

RefActionOwnerTargetStatus

13. Custodianship and review record

A profile with no review date quietly goes stale — put the date on it.