The Defence Assistance to the Civil Community Initiative (DACC) provides the means through which Defence provides assistance to the civil community when local resources are not sufficient, have been overwhelmed, no alternative for gaining support is available, or there is a mutually beneficial outcome for Defence in providing assistance.

Whether assisting emergency service agencies to respond to natural disasters, or supporting government/non-government agencies with other emergencies/non-emergencies, DACC guides the provision of Defence support outside the core business of military operations to defend Australia. The DACC brochure provides further details.

Defence Assistance to the Civil Community (DACC) Brochure (PDF, 40.16 MB)

Support types

DACC provides for support in both emergency and non-emergency scenarios:

Emergency

The emergency scenarios include bushfire, cyclone and flood. The type of support provided includes:

• planning
• accommodation and repatriation
• asset protection
• transportation
• logistics
• air lift
• aerial tanker basing
• road clearance
• route clearance for emergency service vehicles
• evacuations
• sandbagging
• welfare checks and door knocking
• assistance with search and rescue.

Non-emergency

Non-emergency assistance includes short-term support to community or local organisations and high-profile public events.

Categories

There are 6 categories of assistance that are defined:

• DACC 1 – localised, short-term emergency responses
• DACC 2 – significant crisis response or relief assistance
• DACC 3 – significant recovery assistance
• DACC 4 – local, small-scale non-emergency support
• DACC 5 – general, significant non-emergency support
• DACC 6 – support to law enforcement (no use of force)

Requesting assistance

Requests for local, time sensitive emergency Defence assistance where life, persons, animals or property is threatened, can be made directly to a local Commander.

For large-scale or long-term emergency Defence assistance, a request for Australian Government non-financial assistance is to be made by authorised State or Territory officials to the National Emergency Management Agency.

For non-emergency assistance that is not time critical, contact the nearest Defence office using the contact details on this page. Note there are date cut-offs for support to large public events.