Disaster declaration status API

Send an Australian postcode, get back the natural-disaster declaration status of the local government areas it covers, drawn from official government sources. One request returns the matched local government areas, a top-level status, a per-area status, the official source link for each record, and the relevant dates.

The endpoint is GET /api/v1/declarations/postcode/{postcode}. It reports declared-area status as published by government. It does not determine eligibility, coverage, or billing. That decision stays with the relevant authority.

Two refinements resolve the split-postcode case. An optional suburb parameter narrows the result to the council areas that suburb falls in, and an unmatched suburb never fails the lookup. For an exact location, POST /api/v1/declarations/point resolves a lat/lng against full-resolution ABS council boundaries. The point lookup is a POST with a JSON body deliberately: coordinates never appear in URLs or logs, are never stored or echoed back, and responses are never cached. Your system geocodes the address; EmergencyAPI never sees it.

Every response carries a verbatim disclaimer (shown at the bottom of this page).

GET /api/v1/declarations/postcode/2480 (Lismore, NSW). Example shape, using real declaration data.

{
  "postcode": "2480",
  "matchStatus": "declared",
  "matchedLgas": [
    {
      "lgaCode": "14850",
      "lgaName": "Lismore",
      "populationShare": 0.95,
      "declarationStatus": "declared",
      "declarations": [
        {
          "agrn": "1012",
          "title": "NSW Severe Weather and Flooding: 22 February 2022 onwards",
          "instrumentType": "state_natural_disaster_declaration",
          "jurisdiction": "nsw",
          "disasterTypes": ["Flood", "Storm"],
          "startDate": "2022-02-22",
          "endDate": null,
          "status": "active",
          "currencyConfidence": "strong",
          "source": "NSW Natural Disaster Declarations",
          "sourceUrl": "https://portal.data.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/Hosted/LGA_NDD_Total/FeatureServer/0/query"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "asAt": "2026-06-25",
  "dataLastUpdated": "2026-06-24T22:54:32Z",
  "stale": false,
  "disclaimer": "EmergencyAPI reports the declaration and funding activation status of Australian local government areas as published by government sources. It does not provide medical, billing, or legal advice. ...",
  "attribution": "https://emergencyapi.com/api/v1/attribution"
}

Postcodes that span several local government areas list each one with its own status and population share. The matched areas other than Lismore are omitted here for brevity.

• declared: every matched local government area has an active State or Territory natural-disaster declaration.
• partial: some matched areas are declared, others are not.
• not_declared: no active declaration or funding activation in any matched area.
• activation_only: Commonwealth disaster-recovery funding (DRFA) is in force, but no State or Territory declaration record was found. Funding activation and a state declaration are separate instruments.
• uncertain: a record matches, but its current status could not be confirmed from published dates. Check the linked source.
• unknown_postcode: the postcode is not recognised.

New South Wales publishes a machine-readable register of natural-disaster declarations by local government area, so for NSW postcodes the answer is a confident declared or not_declared.

Elsewhere, the strongest national source is Commonwealth disaster-recovery funding (DRFA) activation, which returns activation_only. In that case the area has funding in force, and you confirm the State or Territory declaration against the official source linked in each record. The API never guesses a declaration that a government source does not publish.

Confident declared / not_declared coverage for the other states and territories is on the roadmap as we ingest each jurisdiction's declaration register.

• Telehealth and healthcare: a national telehealth provider checks whether a patient address falls in a declared disaster area before a consult, then applies the relevant rules itself.
• Insurance: triage and route claims by declared disaster area; flag exposure across a portfolio.
• Councils and utilities: confirm declaration status across service areas to scope response and reporting.
• Logistics and field services: identify declared zones that affect routing, access, and crew safety.

EmergencyAPI reports declared-area status as published by government. It is not a ruling on eligibility, coverage, benefits, or billing, and it is not legal, medical, or financial advice. Those determinations rest with the relevant authority and the professional acting on the data. We give you the official status and the source link. You apply your own rules.

EmergencyAPI reports the declaration and funding activation status of Australian local government areas as published by government sources. It does not provide medical, billing, or legal advice. The decision to apply any MBS exemption rests with the treating practitioner, who must document the exemption and the clinical reasoning in the patient's clinical notes at the time of service (MBS Note AN.1.1).

Try it yourself on the live postcode lookup, or read the declarations guide.