There’s no natural disaster our Australian colleagues will not brave to protect their local communities, as they have repeatedly proven in recent years.

In March 2022, the Clarence Valley in New South Wales (NSW) – still reeling from the 2020 bushfire crisis – experienced the worst flooding in generations. Thousands of acres disappeared underwater. Many people from the Serco-operated Clarence Correctional Centre (CLA) were affected, as well as the wider community.

Serco colleagues from the local community – volunteers for the State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service (RFS) – provided invaluable support to flood victims, bolstering widespread rescue and recovery efforts.

“People came in from miles away to lend a hand. Serco was amazing: donating essentials, offering accommodation to those with nowhere to go, and giving us volunteers the freedom to take action. My manager said, ‘Just go do what you need to do; come back when you can,’ and my colleagues stepped up to cover for me – everybody played a part.”

Adriana Mugica is a Deputy General Manager at CLA and has been with the NSW RFS since 2014, receiving a Commissioners Unit Citation for Service and the National Emergency Medal for her efforts in the bushfire crisis.

For Adriana, the impact on local lives was hard to bear: “They were broken, scared and upset – especially the elderly. Some lost everything. We all worked really hard to help them, and I gave out a lot of hugs.”