Australia is facing "enormous" challenges as the summer ahead is forecast to be hotter, drier and carry the risk of intense bushfires.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Emergency management agencies are working to ensure they are equipped to deal with the volatile conditions.
The National Bushfire Preparedness Summit will convene for its second day at Parliament House on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned the collective issues the nation will have to manage will be "enormous".
"We have a real challenge ahead of us with the summer that is coming," he told reporters in Adelaide.
"It is ... beyond doubt that there's always more that we can do to prepare, which is why we're having this summit."
Forestry Australia President Michelle Freeman said the diaster preparedness event needed to be more than just a "two-day flash in the pan".
"Being bushfire ready doesn't happen overnight, it is a 365-day a year job that demands a long-term commitment to evidence-based approaches," Dr Freeman said.
"Fire must be managed by professionally trained, experienced, and accredited forest managers in partnership with traditional custodians, not just emergency service or defence agencies."
The summit will involve scenarios that emergency services can expect to face this summer and "put everyone through their paces", Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said.
"We will put together a hypothetical situation that we might be facing this summer to make sure ... everyone is ready for what might be happening," he said.
"If we identify some gaps in that process, then at least we've got time to fix it."
The nation needed to prepare for the possibility of cyclones, floods and heatwaves on top of bushfires, National Emergency Management Agency head Brendan Moon said.
"We're very much looking at multiple scenarios impacting different areas."
The summit brings together 250 representatives from federal, state and territory governments, emergency services experts and not-for-profit organisations.
The event will attempt to unite disaster management agencies as parts of Australia prepare for their worst bushfire seasons since the Black Summer fires in 2019/20 which killed 34 people and destroyed more than 2000 homes.
Options to keep vulnerable people safe, including those living with disabilities and those in Indigenous communities, will also be considered.
Australian Associated Press