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Gold Coast committee asks for evacuation planning report by June after disaster exercise review
A City of Gold Coast committee has requested a follow-up report on evacuation planning and disaster centre interoperability while also noting a separate Program AIR progress update.
Gold Coast councillors have asked for a report on citywide evacuation planning to come back by June 2026 after reviewing a pre-season disaster and emergency management exercise focused on tsunami risk.
At its 26 February meeting, the City of Gold Coast's Lifestyle, Environment, Heritage and Resilience Committee recommended that Council note the Exercise Leviathan evaluation report and ongoing actions to manage high-consequence disaster risks across the Gold Coast local government area. The committee also added a further requirement for a new report on evacuation planning for natural disaster scenarios and future disaster events, including how disaster centres work together.
For residents, the practical change from this meeting is the extra follow-up work now requested on evacuation arrangements and disaster centre interoperability. The minutes do not record any direct service changes, approvals or new spending commitments from the item.
The committee recommendation on Exercise Leviathan was marked as changed at the meeting. Councillors endorsed the original noting recommendation, then added the request for a further report back to the committee by June 2026.
In a separate item, the committee also recommended that Council note a presentation on Program AIR's progress update. The minutes record no further detail on that presentation and do not show any associated funding or service decision.
The meeting was held at Council Chambers in Surfers Paradise and closed at 9.51am. Any formal next step on the disaster management item is for the requested evacuation planning report to return to the committee by June 2026.
Reference minutes
Source: City of Gold Coast Lifestyle, Environment, Heritage and Resilience Committee meeting, 26 February 2026, unconfirmed public minutes.
Key facts from the minutes
- The Lifestyle, Environment, Heritage and Resilience Committee met on 26 February 2026.
- The committee recommended that Council note the Exercise Leviathan evaluation report and ongoing disaster risk actions.
- The committee added a requirement for a report on Gold Coast evacuation planning and disaster centre interoperability by June 2026.
- The minutes describe Exercise Leviathan as a pre-season disaster and emergency management exercise focused on tsunami risk.
- The committee also recommended that Council note the Program AIR progress update presentation.
- The minutes do not record any direct service change, approval or spending commitment linked to the Program AIR item.
Why it matters
- The committee did not approve a new project or spending package, but it did call for more detailed work on evacuation planning and disaster centre interoperability, both of which could affect how the city prepares for future natural disasters.