First Nations women, cultural fire knowledge, wellbeing and memory

In May 2025, 37 women from across Australia and overseas came together in North Queensland for the inaugural 12-day Australia Women-in-Fire Prescribed Training Exchange (AUS WTREX) program. A key focus of AUS WTREX was the role of Indigenous1 women in fire, and so the program prioritised supporting Indigenous women as participants. The focus of AUS WTREX was to enhance fire practitioner skills, exchange cultural burning and western burning knowledge and develop an international network of women in fire and land management.

AUS WTREX was delivered through a partnership between the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), with support from the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand (AFAC), WTREX and Fire Networks. The 12-day program took place across Gimuy and Yirrganydji Country (Cairns), Ewamian Country (Undara Volcanic National Park), Bundarra and Wadjanbarra Country (Tinaroo and Rocky Creek) and Gunggandji Mandingalbay Yidinji Country (Yarrabah). A key focus of AUS WTREX was the role of Indigenous women in fire, and so the program prioritised supporting Indigenous women as participants.

QFD acknowledged that AUS WTREX was an important learning opportunity. Through its capacity as an end-user organisation with Natural Hazards Research Australia (the Centre), QFD expressed an interest for an impact evaluation to be done with participants of AUS WTREX. Key outcomes of this evaluation were to evaluate the delivery of the program and investigate the experiences of Indigenous women participating in the program. Central to this evaluation process was to identify what worked in delivering the program, the meaning of the program to participants and provide recommendations to enhance future training programs.

National Indigenous Disaster Resilience (NIDR) at Monash University was then appointed to conduct this evaluation and complement it with additional research skills and insights. The core objective of this research-led impact evaluation was to better understand how AUS WTREX impacted First Nations women who participated, given it was the first of its kind held in Australia. The research-led impact evaluation (hereafter research project) seeks to understand if and how participation in AUS WTREX impacts First Nations women’s physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing and their memory.

This report begins by providing contextual information about the Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX) and AUS WTREX, and by defining some key concepts at the centre of this project. The methodologies used for the applied research are then discussed, including oral interviews, personal reflective journals and participant observation and outline the strengths and limitations of each approach. Following this, the findings are detailed, which have been organised into six distinct, yet interconnected themes:

• Safety and support
• Confidence and empowerment
• Reciprocal exchange
• Connection and healing
• Cultural, personal and professional growth
• Reincorporation

These findings offer critical insights into the benefits of Indigenous-led spaces which enable First Nations women to gather and participate in caring for Country and professional development activities. The research reveals the importance of engaging women in the fire and emergency management sector, and tangential sectors such as caring for Country and land and water management on government-operated parks estates. Findings have implications for prescribed burning and other land management agencies to better engage, recruit and support Indigenous women as fire practitioners, and explore the opportunities available to agencies by opening up pathways for employment, retention and promotion.