A bag beside the door is useful. A bag beside the door that nobody can lift is less useful. When you put together an evacuation bag, begin with the person who will carry it and the place you plan to go.
There is no single shopping list that suits every household. A parent carrying a baby, someone using a mobility aid and a couple travelling by car will need different arrangements. The aim is to organise the essentials before you are trying to remember them under pressure.
What is the difference between a home kit and an evacuation bag?
Your home kit can hold bulk supplies. A grab bag needs to be manageable. Keep the supplies for staying at home organised separately, then choose which items would travel with you. Do not assume that a bag needs to hold every item from your cupboard.
For the bigger picture, start with our Australian household emergency kit guide.
What should go in your grab bag?
Use these categories as a packing prompt, then adjust them to your own needs:
- Personal essentials: identification copies, important contacts, keys, glasses and the medicines or aids you depend on.
- Light and communication: a working torch or headlamp, phone cable and charged power bank.
- Food and water: manageable drinking water and familiar snacks you can eat without cooking.
- Clothes and hygiene: a change of clothes, suitable footwear, toiletries and basic first-aid supplies.
- Children and pets: the everyday supplies, transport arrangements and comfort items they need.
Put small items in separate labelled pouches. It is much easier to find the charging cable when it has a place than when it is somewhere under spare clothes.
Keep a last-minute list on top
Some essentials are used every day and cannot stay packed. Write a short list for those items and keep it with the bag. Yours might say: daily medicines, phone, glasses, wallet and pet carrier. Make the list specific enough that another household member can help.
For medicine supply or storage questions, speak with your pharmacist or care team in advance. Packing a general first-aid kit does not cover an individual's medical needs.
Choose a bag you can actually use
Pack an ordinary bag first. Lift it, carry it a short distance and find the light without emptying the contents. If the bag is awkward, change the arrangement before buying more equipment.
A small 10-litre roll-top dry bag can organise a change of clothes inside another bag. Check its closure instructions and protection limits; do not assume a dry bag will protect documents or electronics during prolonged submersion. Existing pouches may already do the organising job.
Where will you go, and how will you get there?
A packed bag is only part of leaving home. Queensland Government's evacuation guidance recommends checking local hazards, council evacuation arrangements and routes, discussing meeting places and contacts, and planning for household members who need assistance.
Confirm your destination can accommodate pets and any accessibility needs. Follow official directions and current local warnings. Do not enter floodwater or delay leaving to collect optional belongings.
How often should you check an evacuation bag?
Choose a review date that fits your household, and check it again after anything is used. Children grow, phone cables change, and the snack that sounded good six months ago may no longer be anyone's favourite.
A quick review can be a practical household exercise: one person finds the bag, another finds the contact list, and everyone checks the items they would need. Note anything missing and put it on the next ordinary shopping list.
Print a checklist and make it your own
Our free emergency checklist has a home-supply page and a grab-bag planning page. Print it, cross out what does not apply and add the essentials specific to your household. No purchase or email signup is required.
Reviewed 8 October 2026. This guide is a general planning aid. Use current advice from your local emergency authorities for the hazards where you live.