Vote now: Celebrating resilience through a camera lens

The finalists in the Resilient Australia Photography Awards capture such moments, as well as preparations and recovery, as bushfires and other natural disasters threaten towns, forests, and people.

Public voting has opened for the awards, an initiative of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) and the Australian and New Zealand Council for fire and emergency service (AFAC). Australians are invited to visit Facebook to look at all the finalists and vote.

Each state and territory’s highest collector of Facebook likes will go on to be considered by the official judging panel for the national photography award, as part of the wider 2026 Resilient Australian Awards, to be announced later this year.

“The Resilient Australia Photography Award captures resilience in a way that words often cannot,” said Ana Moreno, Director Communications and Events, AIDR and AFAC. “These images tell powerful stories of communities preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters, while highlighting the people, partnerships and actions that strengthen resilience across Australia.”

Moreno said the judges were impressed by the quality of this year’s entries. “They demonstrated not only exceptional photographic skill, but a deep understanding of what resilience looks like in practice,” she said.

The public voting for the state and territory winners closes on July 16.

More information

See all the finalist images, and vote here.