Attention: NSW Caretaker Period has commenced

The caretaker period for the NSW Election commenced on 3 March 2023. Accordingly, no ministerial press releases or related information issued by the Government from this date will be available on this website. For copies of recently issued ministerial press releases or information on the election policies of any political party as they relate to this department/agency or its portfolio area, please go directly to the website of the relevant political party

Bushfire Response R&D Mission

Bushfire & Natural Hazards Technology Network

The NSW Government is offering up to $5.2 million to establish and run the Bushfire & Natural Hazards Technology Network (the ‘Network’).

The objective of the Network is to establish a world-leading, mature and collaborative bushfire and natural hazards technology sector in NSW that creates new businesses and high-quality jobs.

The Network will actively foster the commercial development and adoption of technologies and services in NSW to better prepare for future bushfires and natural hazards, protect first responders and communities, and provide economic benefit to NSW.

The Network will cover all phases of bushfire and natural hazards management: preparation, preparedness, response and recovery, and will leverage the skills, expertise and networks in existing NSW innovation networks, such as the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), the NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre, or the Australian Government’s Natural Hazards Research Australia to maximise its impact.

The values of the Network are to:

Actively facilitate and encourage participants to connect for mutual gain and overcome geographical, cultural and social barriers
Be sustainable by fostering a collegial pay-it-forward culture where participants are willing to help others and pass on any positive benefits they receive to create a continuous cycle of connection for mutual gain.

The Network will have four key functions:

Build trusted relationships between stakeholders for mutual gain
Build capability and commercial pathways to scale for NSW businesses and researchers
Provide market demand and intelligence services to NSW businesses and researchers
Increase awareness and impact of NSW bushfire/natural hazards businesses and build global connections.

Guidelines

Bushfire & Natural Hazards Technology Network Guidelines

Important Dates

Applications open	Thursday 2 February 2023
Information session	10am Thursday 16 February 2023
Applications close	5pm Monday 20 March 2023
Applicants informed of the outcome	May 2023

Information Session

The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer hosted an information session on Thursday 16 February 2023 to provide stakeholders with an overview of the Network and the assessment process. Stakeholder questions and answers from the session can be viewed at the link below.