Risk mitigation initiatives fail because they are developed without community engagement and consultation, according to Risk Frontiers.

The public is not considered until strategies have been developed and information is not communicated to people who need it or does not motivate them to take action, the research agency has told the Productivity Commission inquiry into disaster funding.

“As a consequence, the public do not adhere to and implement official advice.”

Risk Frontiers says it found few people interested in flood-proofing their homes after the 2011 Queensland and Victorian floods.

Its submission calls for a new approach that takes account of the diversity of communities and invites participation.

It says poor planning has led to building in hazard-prone places – often near water or bushland – and there is no evidence that better knowledge of risk is reducing this.

More risk data should be made public, along with better community education, and there should be increased funding and planning for reducing risk.

Meanwhile, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre has called for a national data management infrastructure to be established, to support research, policy and analysis.

It also wants more focused research on the costs and benefits of mitigation versus recovery.

It says mitigation is preferred but “the incentives for doing so are stacked against its achievement”.