Civil Defence in New Zealand

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management is responsible for the framework for the delivery of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management function across New Zealand.

The Ministry:

• Provides policy advice to government
• Supports civil defence emergency management planning and operations
• Ensures that there is coordination at local, regional and national levels
• Manages the central government response for large scale civil defence emergencies that are beyond the capacity of local authorities.

The overarching strategy for achieving resilience to hazards and disasters is through a risk management approach to the 4 ‘Rs’ of:

• reduction
• readiness
• response
• recovery.

The Ministry aims to put the right tools, knowledge and skills in the hands of those who will be responsible for designing and implementing solutions at the local level. They do this by working closely with local government, utilities and the emergency services involved in civil defence emergency management.

Territorial Local authorities remain responsible for civil defence emergency management (CDEM) in their local area, and subsequently are aligned with a wider Regional Civil Defence Group office to manage larger emergencies on a Regional basis, such as this Group’s website you are currently viewing.

If life or property is threatened always dial 111 for Police, Fire or Ambulance.