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the world has witnessed a sharp increase in the frequency and severity of disasters.

Over the last few decades, the world has witnessed a sharp increase in the frequency and severity of disasters. Unfortunately this trend is set to continue as a result of growing population pressures, unplanned urbanisation, climate change and environmental degradation.

Vulnerable communities in developing countries are disproportionately affected by disasters which leave people impacted even more prone to future shocks. When disasters strike, schools close, livelihoods are destroyed and community infrastructure is damaged. Families living in poorly built, unsafe housing must then also invest time and money to repair or rebuild, depleting their meagre savings and setting them back from moving out of poverty.

It is widely acknowledged that climate change will exacerbate climate induced disasters. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), states that an increase in average temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius will affect sea levels, increase the voracity and occurrence of natural disasters, prolongs drought and rainfall, and put pressure on food and water resources.

When disaster strikes, Habitat is prepared to respond. After a disaster, we provide emergency relief, as well as ongoing recovery and rehabilitation programming. Our work is long term and focuses on building back better so that houses are more resilient to withstand future disasters.

Habitat for Humanity Australia recently worked with the DFAT Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s Disaster Ready program to produce Shelter Emergency Handbooks with disaster response actors across the Pacific. This project spans a four-year period, completed in late 2022. Our key projects took place in Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands and involved extensive research with a wide variety of local and international stakeholders, along with strong community engagement. The result was the establishment of country specific shelter guidelines to ensure each country is prepared to deliver inclusive and effective shelter response activities following disasters such as climate emergencies.

Our Impact Stories

Stories from overseas

Building Resilience and Hope: A story of Success in Beguntila, Dhaka 
In the bustling city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, one community is finding strength, unity, and resilience through a remarkable initiative led by Habitat for Humanity. The construction of a climate-smart, inclusive community centre in…
Global Village build in Fiji - volunteers build inside a home
Hayley and Heaths Engagement Story: Celebrating love and life on the Global Village program in Fiji.
Our Global Village program allows volunteers to make a tangible difference by helping communities in need build safe, secure homes. Through this initiative, participants from around the world can join together to work…
Homeowner gardening outside toilet
World Toilet Day: Transforming lives through water, sanitation and hygiene
On World Toilet Day we are reminded of the global urgency to ensure access to safe sanitation for all and the role that Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) plays in improving the quality…
Australian NGO community celebrates 50th anniversary for one-of-a-kind Government-NGO partnership program
At Habitat for Humanity Australia, we build homes, communities and hope. Through our longstanding partnership with the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), we have been able to extend our work across Vietnam, Cambodia,…
A resident participates in fire prep training
Fire Preparation with Habitat Bangladesh
In congested informal settlements like Beguntila in Mirpur, Dhaka, fire lurks like an unseen predator, always poised to strike. Houses in the informal settlements are stitched together with whatever materials can be found…
Mrs Tan Ta May stands in front the new toilet built outside her home.
The Tan Ta May Family’s Journey Towards A Safer Home 
High in the mountains of the Lao Cai province, lives the Tan Ta May family. Mrs May, her husband and their two young sons, live in a deteriorating makeshift home, cobbled together from…

Habitat for Humanity Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the country on which we work, the peoples of the Eora Nation, and recognises their continuing connection to land, water, and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters of Australia. 

We are endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient with charity status. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. Habitat for Humanity is accredited by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), responsible for managing the Australian Government’s development program. Habitat for Humanity Australia receives support through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

Habitat For Humanity Australia ABN: 29 131 976 004
Habitat for Humanity Australia Overseas Aid Fund ABN: 36 747 459 174
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