Buyback scheme announced for Northern Rivers

Announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet in Lismore on Friday (28 October), the Northern Rivers Resilient Homes Fund package aims to support residential homeowners impacted by the devastating flooding in February-March of this year — one of the costliest extreme weather events in Australian history.

The $800 million program is being jointly funded by the Commonwealth and NSW state governments.

It sets aside:

• $700 million to undertake retrofitting ($50,000 per home), house raising ($100,000 per home) or, in locations where the flood annual exceedance probability is greater than one in five, home buybacks
• $100 million for land acquisition to provide local options for those who choose to relocate through the buyback scheme

The program covers seven flood victims in seven local government areas: Ballina; Byron; Clarence Valley; Kyogle; Lismore; Richmond Valley; and Tweed.

Mr Albanese said the government is working in partnership with the NSW government “to develop practical solutions to protect lives and livelihoods,” especially considering “disasters are expected to become more frequent, and more severe due to climate change.”

“We know this repeated, relentless flooding can be emotionally and financially draining and we want communities to know we will be there to support them now, and as they recover,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Perrottet, who recently visited the area to see first-hand the “devastation [that] extreme flooding caused across the Northern Rivers” is hopeful that “this program provides relief for so many residents who have suffered for too long.”

“We are stepping up to provide options for residents to move out of harm’s way and protect themselves and their families but we cannot continue to build back as we have in the past,” Mr Perrottet said.

He added that the government “will work with the Northern Rivers community to ensure repairs, retrofitting and voluntary buy-backs are undertaken in a way that will better protect people and their homes from future flood events.”

Eligible home owners will be offered one of the three available measures, based on expert property assessments: flood impact severity data, safety risks, and potential future flood levels.

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Paul Toole, outlined that “there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to building back and this program offers multiple measures to help residents stay in the region in homes that can better withstand future floods.

Andrew Hall, chief executive at the Insurance Council of Australia, explained that “today’s announcement is a necessary and significant investment” given “since 2019 insurers have received more than 577,000 claims related to declared flood events to the value of $8.8 billion.”

He believes the commitment “demonstrates that both the Federal and New South Wales government understand the scale and complexity of the policy solutions required to begin to address this worsening threat.”

Mr Hall acknowledged how difficult the decision to sell a beloved home is. However, he encouraged “all of those eligible for the buyback element of the Program to take up the offer and relocate somewhere safe and more sustainable.”

He noted “it is positive to see that those who were covered for the flood will not be excluded from the Program.”

“Perhaps even more important over the long-term than the funding announced today, we are extremely pleased that the prime minister has asked the premier to lead a discussion with other state and territory leaders to reform planning in this country,” he concluded.

[Related: NAB offers $1k grant to flood-impacted customers]