The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is the government’s lead for emergency management.

In New Zealand, emergency management is often called ‘civil defence’.

Depending on the emergency, NEMA leads or supports the response and recovery.

NEMA is part of a larger emergency management system. They work with central and local government, communities, iwi, and business to make sure responses to and recoveries from emergencies are effective and integrated.

NEMA is an independent departmental agency hosted by the Department of Internal Affairs.