The economic and social impact of disasters on children and young people 2025
UNICEF Australia
Our 2025 report for UNICEF Australia shows children and young people face $6.3 billion in annual costs from disasters such as bushfires, floods, and extreme weather currently. These costs are projected to rise by 65% by 2060 under a mid-level climate change scenario.
Children and young people (CYP) in Australia face distinct and long-lasting consequences from disasters like bushfires and floods. This 2025 study was completed for UNICEF Australia and expands on a previous 2024 report by quantifying additional costs of disasters among CYP using new data sources, and projecting total economic costs to 2060 under three of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) climate scenarios of global average surface temperature rises, relative to pre-industrial levels.
Currently, disasters, such as natural hazards and extreme weather events, are estimated to impose approximately $6.3 billion in measurable economic and social costs for CYP in Australia in an average year - which is equivalent to $6,782 per disaster impacted CYP. This includes both lifetime impacts, such as lost income from disrupted education, and short-term effects, such as the cost of temporary employment disruption or displacement.
Projecting forward, under the mid-level emissions scenario (SSP2-4.5), where average surface temperatures are projected to rise to 2.2 degrees above 1850-1950 levels, the average annual cost of disasters affecting CYP is expected to increase by 65%, from $6.3 billion per year in 2025 to $10.4 billion per year (in 2025 dollars) by 2060.
To reduce these growing risks, this report calls for greater investment in child-centred place-based support, including mental health services, educational continuity, and stable housing. It also emphasises the value of pursuing lower-emissions pathways to limit future costs. All levels of government should integrate child-specific considerations more consistently into disaster risk assessments, climate adaptation strategies for key social service sectors upon which children rely to survive and thrive, and recovery frameworks - including a specific disaster framework for CYP. Finally, a dedicated focus on intersectional age-disaggregated data on long-term disaster impacts can enable more effective, evidence-based policy responses that better protect CYP wellbeing.
