Want to share your work or insights in emergency management? Learn more about the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) - a leading open-access publication that bridges research and practice. Whether you're a researcher, practitioner, or policy expert, AJEM offers a platform to publish and connect with a broad audience across Australia and beyond.
Meet the Editor: Associate Professor Melissa Parsons
I’m Associat
e Professor Melissa Parsons, a disaster resilience academic at Australia’s oldest regional university, the University of New England in Armidale, NSW. I am also the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM).
I help to plan each issue and have oversight of peer-review decisions about research papers. This is done with the support of the AJEM editorial committee made up of representatives from the National Emergency Management Agency, the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR), AFAC and Natural Hazards Research Australia.
The committee meets regularly to plan current and future AJEM editions and to discuss emerging issues.
AJEM is a quarterly journal and is published by AIDR under the auspice of the National Emergency Management Agency. It is an online, open-source journal and is freely available on the Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub. You can subscribe to receive AJEM directly to your inbox.
I would like to contribute to the AJEM but I am not a researcher, how can I contribute?
AJEM is a hybrid scholarly and practice-based journal. Each quarter, it publishes peer-reviewed scholarly research alongside non-peer-reviewed papers about practices, projects, initiatives and incidents.
Its readership attracts subscribers including government policy makers, agency decision-makers and researchers in a very broad range of aspects covering emergency and disaster management and risk reduction.
Importantly, AJEM assists the on-the-ground communities that turn much of the information into real-world benefit in their local area.
So, if you have been working on a project, a set of new policies or guidelines, some practice enhancement or have an informed view or perspective relevant to the sector, AJEM might well be a place to publish.
The AJEM Contributor Guidelines contain all the information about types or papers, how to prepare and how to submit. Brief descriptions are:
- Research – scholarly papers on findings of original research relating to emergency management and disaster risk reduction. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed (max 8,000 words incl references).
- Reports - descriptions of practices, projects, incidents, research, major initiatives and policies of interest to those sectors with a role or interest in disaster resilience or emergency management within the scope of AJEM (max 3,000 words incl references).
- News and Views - short articles describing events, program updates, initiatives, policies, workshop/exercise outcomes, professional development and items of interest to AJEM readers, including obituaries (around 400-500 OR max 1,500 words).
- Viewpoints – AIDR-solicited suite of articles exploring cross-cutting and emerging issues. A ‘seed article’ is provided to invited authors for contribution of industry perspectives.
- Opinion piece - critiques of current or emerging issues in disaster resilience and emergency management by experienced and respected researchers, practitioners or others (around 400-500 OR max 1,500 words).
- Book review - articles reviewing a recently published book of interest to those in the sector (400-500 words).
I am a researcher and would like to submit an academic paper, what’s the process?
AJEM prioritises and publishes original research. This also include reviews, methods papers, data papers, short communications and case studies.
Research manuscripts must follow a discipline-standard approach to scholarship, research practice, article style, composition and structure that is appropriate to the type of work undertaken.
I’m often asked, ‘what the difference is between a research paper and a report article?’
Research papers have the markers of research scholarship, which means there is a defined and justified research problem using literature. There is a clear research aim. All data collection is undertaken using justified and standard methodologies. Findings are described using data and evidence and discussion of findings is in relation to the proposition. There must be a sound lead-in abstract giving context to the reason and benefit of the research as well as a conclusion that summaries the findings and the research benefits.
This is established scholarly practice a necessary feature for research entering the emergency management body of knowledge.
Research manuscripts are double-blind peer-reviewed and accepted or rejected based on reviewer comments.
So, if you are undertaking original research, or you are a research student, consider AJEM for research publication. This is especially important if your research is funded by Australian institutions because AJEM is open-source, has no publication fees and meets government publishing standards.
More information is available via the AJEM Contributor Guidelines.
Who can I talk to if I need further information?
Inquiries and submissions can be sent to: ajem@aidr.org.au
Research manuscripts to progress to peer review are sent to the Manager Editor for peer-review administration. Authors are provided with all process information.
Other non-research papers are considered by AIDR and the AJEM Editorial Committee for viability. AIDR informs authors or acceptance (or not) at submission stage.
Inquiries by phone to AIDR at (03) 9419 2388 can also be made, however email is preferred.
The AJEM is celebrating a milestone next year, what can you tell us about that?
2026 marks 40 years of publishing research and documenting the progress made in risk reduction!
AJEM was first published as a 6-page newsletter in March 1986 as the The Macedon Digest to fill an 'information void within the counter-disaster community'.
In 1988, it was recast as the Australian Newsletter of Disaster Management and the document changed its format and size as research became more valuable to the sector.
In 1995, the publication was registered as the Australian Journal of Emergency Management and was included in academic lists and entered the international stage.
For the 40th anniversary of AJEM in 2026, we envisage a series of ‘looking-back, looking forward’ articles over the years on aspects of emergency management. And we want to include tribute to past achievements and the movers and shakers on whose work has been the expanding foundation of policy and practice over the 4 decades.
If this is you, contact AIDR now to offer your suggestion: ajem@aidr.org.au
Publishing in AJEM builds the expert knowledge within the sector. Readership surveys
consistently show that AJEM addresses current sector issues and is a reliable and rigorous source of knowledge.
AJEM standards of publication and free access to high-quality online formats is highly appreciated by authors and readers. And the best thing is – AJEM’s aim to translate knowledge into practice happens every year in communities in Australia, New Zealand and around the globe.
