In 2008, a national review of drought policy recommended drought assistance be restructured to better help farmers plan and prepare for drought. Under the subsequent Intergovernmental Agreement on National Drought Program Reform, the NSW Government established the Regional Assistance Advisory Committee (RAAC) in 2013 to oversee the production of State Seasonal Updates to help landholders prepare for worsening seasonal conditions and advise the government on impacts of adverse climatic conditions.
In 2015 the NSW Department of Primary Industries Chief Scientists’ office undertook a review of the seasonal conditions reporting process. It identified a need for a more automated and staged approach to seasonal conditions assessment using a comprehensive drought index (or indices) to describe both the onset of deteriorating conditions and recovery. Such an approach could deliver a graduated advisory system similar to the familiar fire danger warnings seen beside many roads in NSW. Each level of warning could be accompanied by a set of advisory actions and could support specific socioeconomic interventions.
The outcome of the review was the development of the Enhanced Drought Information SystemTM (EDIS) to track all phases of drought onset and production recovery. EDIS aims to build drought risk awareness, emphasise drought preparedness and improve confidence in drought monitoring and early warning and move away from ‘in-crises' drought management.