Prepping in Australia: a beginner's guide for ordinary households
Prepping in Australia means being able to cope at home if power, water, phones or payments stop for a while, or to leave quickly in a bushfire or flood. Official lists start with a written emergency plan and a three-day kit: at least 10 litres of water per person, food, a torch, a radio, medication and spare cash.
"Prepper" used to mean bunkers and a year of freeze-dried food. For most Australian households it now means a written plan, a box with water and tins, and a battery radio set to the local ABC station, which is what state emergency services and Red Cross ask every home to have. This guide explains what prepping looks like for an ordinary family, how to plan in layers without panic or big spending, and where cash, savings and gold fit.
What does prepping mean for a normal household?
Forget the television version. For most people, prepping is simply having enough at home to stay safe, fed and informed through a few days of disruption, and being able to leave fast if told to. The Queensland Government's advice is to have supplies to stay at home for three days, even without power, and to take what you need if you have to evacuate.
A sensible plan covers six things: a written plan, water, food, power and light, information, and money. It builds up slowly, uses food you would eat anyway, and is checked at least once a year.
What are you actually preparing for?
NSW Health's emergency pantry guide lists the kinds of events that can cut supplies: bushfire, flood, influenza pandemic, cyclone, storms, earthquake and utility failure. It notes that these can affect electricity, gas and water and disrupt the supply of food and groceries. Very different events end in the same few problems at home.
| Event | What it can knock out | What helps most |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Power, roads, phone coverage; may force evacuation at short notice | A written plan, an evacuation bag by the door, documents, cash |
| Flood or storm | Power, water, roads; may cut you off for days | Stored water and food, battery radio, torch, power bank |
| Cyclone | Power, water and communications over a wide area | A full three-day kit, tarpaulin and ropes, tools to turn off utilities |
| Heatwave | Power (and so cooling), health | Water, a plan for vulnerable family members, a cool place to go |
| Utility or IT failure | Card payments, ATMs, online banking | Cash in small notes, a second bank card, paper copies of key numbers |
A planning guide written by GoldVetted from the hazards and kit items in NSW Health, NSW SES and Get Ready Queensland material. It is not a forecast; check your state emergency service for local risks.
How do the warnings work?
Australia uses one national system for hazards such as bushfire, flood, storm, cyclone and extreme heat. The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience describes three levels:
- Advice: an incident has started, with no immediate danger. Stay up to date.
- Watch and Act: conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now.
- Emergency Warning: the highest level. You may be in danger and need to act immediately.
The point of prepping is to act calmly at Advice or Watch and Act, not to start packing at Emergency Warning.
How should you plan: 3 days, 2 weeks or longer?
A layered plan avoids the two common traps: doing nothing, or panic-buying a year of food.
| Layer | Status | What to have |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days | Official baseline | At least 10 litres of drinking water per person, three days of non-perishable food and a can opener, torch and battery radio with spare batteries, first aid kit, a week of medication, phone chargers and power bank, documents, spare cash. Full list in our emergency kit checklist. |
| Up to 14 days | NSW Health pantry guide | Enough food, water (3 litres per person per day) and essential items to stay confined at home for up to 14 days, built up gradually and rotated. |
| Longer term | Financial and practical resilience | An emergency fund in accounts covered by the Financial Claims Scheme, more than one bank, first aid skills, a written household plan, neighbours you know, and for some people a long-term store of value such as gold. |
How much water do you need?
Get Ready Queensland's minimum is 10 litres of drinking water per person for three days, so 40 litres for a family of four. For a two-week stay at home, NSW Health's figure of 3 litres per person per day comes to 168 litres for four people. Water is the item people skip most because it is heavy and dull, yet it matters most. Store it somewhere cool and dark, and add extra for pets and for hot weather.
How do you store food without waste?
- Store what you eat, eat what you store. Put new tins at the back and use the oldest first, so stock never quietly goes out of date.
- Plan by meals, not by item. Three days for two people is 18 meals.
- Keep a can opener with the food; every official list includes one.
- Build up gradually. NSW Health suggests adding more each time you shop and checking expiry dates regularly.
- Remember babies and pets. Get Ready Queensland lists formula, nappies and wipes for at least three days, and pet food, water and bowls.
How will you get news if phones and internet go down?
A battery powered radio with spare batteries is on every official list. Australian Red Cross says to set it to your local ABC radio frequency. Keep a charged power bank, and a paper contact list: NSW SES puts an emergency contact list at the top of its checklist. Agree with family where you would meet and who checks on whom if phones are down.
What about money: cash, savings and gold?
This is the layer most prepping guides skip, and the one where people make the most expensive mistakes. Each kind of money does a different job.
| Cash at home | Bank savings | Physical gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use in a 3-day outage | Yes if shops are open | Hard if ATMs and EFTPOS are down | No shops do not take it |
| Government protection | None; theft and fire risk | Financial Claims Scheme up to A$250,000 per account holder per ADI | Not covered by the FCS |
| Contents insurance (RACV example) | A$200 in total | Not needed | A$2,500 in total, with collections |
| Earns a return | No, loses value to inflation | Interest | No interest; price can rise or fall |
| Main job | First days of an outage | Emergency fund and everyday money | Long-term store of value outside the banking system |
Cash
Get Ready Queensland lists spare cash in case payment systems are down, and NSW SES says ATMs and EFTPOS may not work. Neither sets an amount. Our guide to how much cash to keep at home works through realistic figures, AUSTRAC's reporting rules and insurance limits.
Savings
APRA says the Financial Claims Scheme protects deposits up to A$250,000 per account holder at each Australian-incorporated bank, building society and credit union, and that it aims to pay most account holders within seven calendar days of activation. Trading names of the same bank share one limit. See what happens if an Australian bank fails.
Gold
Gold is not emergency spending money. A 1oz coin is worth thousands of dollars, it cannot be split to give change, and dealers may be closed during a disaster. Where some households do use gold is in the longer-term layer: a store of value held outside the banking system that does not depend on any bank or government promise. It also has clear downsides: the price can fall, it pays nothing, it costs money to buy, store and insure, and the Financial Claims Scheme does not cover it. Our explainer on whether gold is a safe haven shows how it behaved in past crises in Australian dollars, and our gold storage guide compares the options.
If you do want to buy a little gold, compare dealer prices first. These are listed for information, not as a recommendation.
For a step-by-step overview of coins, bars and dealers, read how to buy gold or compare Australian dealers on our Australian gold hub.
What are the most common prepping mistakes?
- No written plan. NSW SES and Red Cross both start with one.
- Buying food you never eat. It expires unused.
- Forgetting water. It is heavy and dull, so people skip it, yet it matters most.
- Relying on your phone. Numbers, documents and maps should also be on paper or a USB.
- Keeping no cash. ATMs and EFTPOS may not work.
- Packing too late. Act at Advice or Watch and Act, not at Emergency Warning.
- Treating gold as a survival currency. It is a long-term asset, not a way to pay for groceries.
Should Australians prepare for war?
We found no current federal advice telling households to stockpile for war. The official preparedness material we read, from state emergency services, state health departments and Red Cross, focuses on natural hazards, pandemics and utility failures. In practical terms, many effects of any major crisis, such as power cuts, payment outages or being told to stay home, are the same problems the basic kit is designed for.
Where do you start this week?
- Write a household plan, for example with Red Cross's free RediPlan.
- Buy 10 litres of water per person and a few extra tins on your next shop.
- Put a torch, a battery radio and a charged power bank in one place.
- Withdraw a small amount of cash in small notes.
- Copy key documents to paper or a USB and write down important numbers.
- Check your savings: are they within A$250,000 per account holder at each bank, counting trading names?
Frequently asked questions
How do I start prepping in Australia?
Start with an emergency plan and a three-day kit. Australian Red Cross offers a free household plan called RediPlan. Get Ready Queensland's kit list starts with at least 10 litres of drinking water per person, three days of non-perishable food, a torch, a battery radio, a first aid kit, a week of medication, documents and spare cash.
How long should Australian households prepare for?
Three days is the common baseline: Get Ready Queensland, the Queensland Government and Australian Red Cross all use it for food and water. NSW Health's emergency pantry guide goes further and plans for a household confined at home for up to 14 days, with 3 litres of water per person per day.
What is an emergency plan?
A written plan for what your household will do before, during and after an emergency: where you will go, how you will contact each other, who checks on whom and what you will take. Australian Red Cross's RediPlan and the Get Prepared app walk you through one, and NSW SES puts an emergency plan at the top of its kit checklist.
Is prepping legal in Australia?
Yes. Keeping water, food, a radio, cash and medical supplies at home is legal and is exactly what state emergency services ask households to do. Normal rules still apply to storing fuel and gas safely and to firearms, but a household emergency kit raises no legal issue.
Are my savings protected if a bank fails?
If the Government activates the Financial Claims Scheme, deposits are protected up to A$250,000 per account holder at each Australian-incorporated bank, building society or credit union, and APRA aims to pay most account holders within seven calendar days. See what happens if an Australian bank fails.
Should Australians prepare for war?
We found no current federal advice telling households to stockpile for war. Official preparedness advice focuses on bushfires, floods, storms, cyclones, heatwaves and outages. Many effects of any major crisis, such as power cuts or payment outages, are the same problems a basic kit is designed for.
Should preppers buy gold?
Gold is not emergency spending money: shops do not take it and a coin cannot be split to give change. Some people hold a small amount as a long-term store of value outside the banking system, alongside cash and protected bank deposits. Its price can fall, it pays no interest, and the Financial Claims Scheme does not cover it.
Sources
We checked these primary and official sources when writing and fact-checking this page.
- Australian Red Cross: Prepare for emergencies (RediPlan, Get Prepared app)
- Australian Red Cross: Get packing checklist 2025
- Get Ready Queensland: Emergency Kit checklist PDF
- Queensland Government: Pack an emergency kit (three days, even without power)
- NSW SES: Emergency Kit Checklist PDF
- NSW Health: Emergency pantry list (hazards, up to 14 days, 3 litres per person per day)
- Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience: Australian Warning System
- APRA: Financial Claims Scheme, banks, building societies and credit unions
- RACV: Home Insurance PDS, prepared 2 August 2022 (cash A$200; sovereigns and bullion A$2,500)
Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.