Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the support network organisations between local government, non‐government organisations (NGOs) and community groups in post‐disaster management. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes the form of an exploratory case study which concentrates on the Bantul district, Indonesia. The Bantul local government, located in Yogyakarta Provincial Indonesia, was selected as a case study because it had experience in managing post‐disaster conditions after the 2006 earthquake. Data were gathered through in‐depth interviews with 40 key informants with knowledge about the case. Findings The research revealed that this local government has made significant achievements in managing network organisations for logistic and humanitarian aid implementation. Inter‐organisational networks, citizen‐to‐organisation networks and organisation‐to‐citizen networks have become prominent resources for local government in managing a disaster because they address the lack of local government capability through negotiated efforts or partnership with other government levels, social institutions, non‐profit sector organisations and the community, in order to mobilize and utilize available capacity effectively. Originality/value This paper presents lessons learnt from local government in organising the support network for logistic and humanitarian aid to respond to disasters.