Unit Outline

Emergency management is when our communities, the public sector (government agencies), the private sector (businesses) and the not-for-profit sector (charities) work together to strengthen society’s capacity to withstand, plan for, respond to and recover from disasters. This unit will provide you with an introductory knowledge on the broader concepts of emergency management. In this unit, you will explore local, national, and international case studies of emergency management in numerous contexts that are applicable and transferable to any discipline. This an introductory unit (level 1) to emergency management. Consequently, the assessment tasks allow you to explore a topic in the context of emergency management that is relevant to your interests and has real world applicability regardless of your specific area of study. Therefore, if you have a passion for enhancing society’s disaster resilience to natural hazards (e.g. bushfires, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, etc.) and man-made disasters (e.g. humanitarian crises, acts of terrorism, environmental incidents, etc.) then this unit is for you.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Describe the basic principles that underpin contemporary emergency management practice in Australia and internationally
2	Identify how emergency management is applied in practice using authentic case studies.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

The 2026 iteration of the unit attempts to account for and incorporate teaching around fast-moving, contemporary geo-political events as relate to emergency management (for example, global consequences of the dissolution of USAID).

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Assignment exploring a natural hazard in the context of emergency management	Week 9	40 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Online multiple-choice quiz	Week 11	20 %	LO1
Assessment Task 3:	Assignment exploring a man-made hazard in the context of emergency management.	Week 13	40 %	LO1, LO2

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Assignment exploring a natural hazard in the context of emergency management

Task Description:

Written case study exploring a natural hazard that resulted in a disaster in the context of emergency management. Students will identify the following in their written assignment:

1. Describe the type of natural hazard you have chosen.
2. Describe how the disaster impacted an affected population.

Students will critically reflect in writing about the emergency management approach taken in this case study.

Please access the Assessment Resources module in the ‘Table of Contents’ that provides some additional written information and a video about this assessment task.

Task Length:

1250 words, excluding reference list

Due Date:

Week 9

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Describe the basic principles that underpin contemporary emergency management practice in Australia and internationally	LO1
2	Identify how emergency management is applied in practice using authentic case studies.	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Online multiple-choice quiz

Task Description:

Students are to answer 30 multiple-choice questions relating to material from Weeks 1-10. This is an open book quiz, meaning you can refer to any material. The task is designed to help you assess your own progress in the unit, and your understanding of key concepts. You have a strict time limit of 20 minutes to complete the quiz. Questions are set up as one mark each. Questions are drawn from a database of questions; each student's quiz will be different. Once you open the quiz you must complete it. The quiz will be available on MyLo via the quizzes tab at the top of the screen.

Task Length:

30 multiple choice questions in 20 minutes. Once you have completed the test, you will not be able to change your answers or resubmit the test

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Describe the basic principles that underpin contemporary emergency management practice in Australia and internationally	LO1

Assessment Task 3: Assignment exploring a man-made hazard in the context of emergency management.

Task Description:

This assignment is similar to Assessment Task 1, but this time you will identify a case study and explore a man-made hazard that resulted in a disaster in the context of emergency management. Students will identify the following in their written assignment:

1. Describe the type of man-made hazard you have chosen.
2. Describe how the disaster impacted an affected population.

Students will critically reflect in writing about the emergency management approach taken in this case study.

Please access the Assessment Resources module in the ‘Table of Contents’ that provides some additional written information and a video about this assessment task.

Task Length:

1500 words, excluding reference list.

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Describe the basic principles that underpin contemporary emergency management practice in Australia and internationally	LO1
2	Identify how emergency management is applied in practice using authentic case studies.	LO2

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes and achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.