Flood-damaged homes could have been rebuilt to better withstand future events if governments and insurers could work together and more quickly, a Parliamentary Inquiry has heard on its visit to the central west.
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Instead, home owners still waiting for action 18 months on from those devastating events have made repairs that leave them just as vulnerable to future flooding.
The Parliamentary Inquiry into the insurance response to the 2022 floods had public hearings in Molong and Eugowra in May, and mayors from our region addressed the committee.
Insurers and government should work together immediately after an event to provide advice, workshops around the best materials and the best designs that would support betterment in homes to be more flood resilient, Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty said.
"With government backing, council would like to see opportunities for insurers to work directly with homeowners that have completed rebuilds, retrofits and raises through the resilience home packages," he said.
"In November '23, the New South Wales and state government announced a $100 million Central West Recovery Resilience program, which included $40 million for a resilience home package.
"Although the guidelines of this package have still not been released, council understands the elements of the package include buybacks, retrofits and house raising.
"The delay in the announcement of the program and the details around the guidance have been a point of frustration from many of our community members."
Eighteen months on, homeowners have been building back with materials that do not result in more long-term resilient homes, Cr Beatty said.
"Even with retrospective funding allowed under the guideline many homeowners will unlikely be able to claim it due to utilising the wrong materials," he told the inquiry.
Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM raised the same issue.
"We're very grateful and thankful for the (funding) packages, but they need to sit down with insurance companies to try to put both lots of money together to get the best outcome for communities," Mayor Miller told the Molong hearing.
"A lot of those communities that have built back with the insurance funds have not done so in a flood compatible manner.
"It won't be about hosing their house out next flood, it will be about repairing, redoing again.
"Whereas had we had the package and the insurance company working together, we could have made those products for replacing those walls flood compatible, and that would have meant a hose out by Fire and Rescue and those homes would have been fine, not a two-year break.
"We're looking at two years before people are even going to look like getting back into their houses."
Mayor Miller said one person she knew asked her insurance company's builders, who started work in January 2024, to raise the light switches and power points in her home.
"They said, 'No, we're just building like for like'," Mayor Miller said.
Mayor Beatty said Queensland had established such a partnership in October 2022: the government signed an agreement with the two biggest Queensland insurance companies to help policyholders eligible for their resilient home package.
"The arrangements provide an opportunity for some homeowners to have their insurance builder complete government funded resilience work at the same time as repairs approved under their policies," Cr Beatty said.
"It would be good to see similar arrangements here in New South Wales.
"Even if it's a scenario where federal and state governments don't fund resilient home packages and standardise guidance around rebuilding and retrofitting homes after climatic events that would be very helpful in reducing the impacts. Insurance companies should give this advice on how this should be done."
Cr Beatty also called for insurance premiums to be reviewed where residents to complete retrofits or raise their homes.
