Resilience is seen as the ability to accommodate abnormal threats and events, be they terrorist attacks, or perturbations from climate change, or natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, or economic shocks. Most definitions, particularly those involving individuals, communities and organisations also refer to identifying, assessing and communicating the risk from such threats and events.

The traditional definition of risk is a measure that reflects the probability and the magnitude of an adverse effect. More recently a broader and more balanced definition has been adopted by the risk management community which recognises that individuals and organisations take risk to achieve potential benefits. People ride motorcycles, take part in dangerous sports, drink alcohol and smoke, because they feel the immediate benefits outweigh the potential harm. Similarly, many people in Australia chose to live in coastal cities and towns which are exposed to tropical cyclones, or in areas which are prone to flooding, or in villages which are vulnerable to bushfires.

Individuals, communities and organisations which are prepared and ready for an abnormal event, tend to be more resilient. Understanding the probability and the magnitude of potential threats enables society to make decisions on how best to reduce the probability and/or impact of such threats, to transfer the risk by taking out adequate insurance, or indeed to do nothing and be ready to accept the potential consequences.

Indeed, in many cases it will never be possible to completely remove the probability of a disruptive event. But society expects our leaders and those responsible for our safety and wellbeing to have processes which aim to identify, analyse and evaluate risks and through consultation agree levels of residual and tolerable risk, and to take decisions on mitigating the risks.

If risk mitigation is conducted in a formal and open manner, society is much more willing to accept the consequences of a disruptive event as people as then aware that all reasonable action was taken to reduce the probability and/or impact. In such circumstances, individuals, communities and organisations will more readily recover and return to normality. They are more resilient.