The newly created NSW Resilience agency will present “opportunities for a more co-ordinated approach” to handle future natural disasters and significant events, IAG MD and CEO Peter Harmer says.

He was commenting as a member of the Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities.

Resilience NSW was established this month to lead disaster preparedness and recovery from catastrophes affecting the state, which is still recovering from the bushfires and floods that broke out last summer.

“We congratulate the NSW Government on creating Resilience NSW and welcome its dedication to building resilience into prevention, preparedness and recovery planning,” Mr Harmer said

“This year has truly been one like no other and has demonstrated the need for businesses, the Government and the community to work together and think differently about how we can overcome the challenges we are facing.”

The roundtable has been advocating for a national resilience program since its founding in 2012. Its most recent report in 2017 recommended that resilience should be incorporated into all aspects of policy and decision-making, to build community resilience and address the long-term costs of natural disasters.

The other roundtable member organisations are Munich Re, Optus, Westpac Group and the Australian Red Cross.