Qld government expands eligibility under Resilient Homes Fund

The Queensland government yesterday (15 August) announced that up to 1,000 additional home owners inundated by the major 2021–22 flooding events could now be eligible to access additional funding to raise their homes.

The Palaszczuk government revealed expansions to its $741 million Resilient Homes Fund to allow more home owners to apply for additional house raising and retrofitting measures.

Up to 1,000 home owners who previously did not meet the house raising criteria but were deemed eligible for support under the resilient retrofit option will now have access to the additional funding.

The expansion means those who had funding intended for a resilient retrofit could instead use it to raise their home, which comes after the government received feedback from impacted Queenslanders.

Queensland Minister for Public Works and Procurement Mick de Brenni said: “We know many in the community are still dealing with the lasting impacts of these devastating floods, which is why we are doing more for those impacted households.

“We’ve listened to Queenslanders and have broadened the criteria, meaning more Queenslanders can live in their homes and communities after flood waters recede without the stress of damaged or unsafe homes.

“Not only is this good news for flood-affected Queenslanders, but it also means fewer insurance claims and lower premiums following extreme flooding in the future.”

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission also launched a public register of contractors suitably qualified to carry out work under the Resilient Homes Fund, with almost 530 builders listed.

Flood-affected Deagon resident Joshua Lind said the changes will make “a lot of people very happy”.

He said: “We lost everything in the floods – our cars, our contents, my work tools – absolutely everything.

“This announcement means a lot, because we didn’t want the risk of losing everything again and this helps with the large financial burden we thought we’d have to face from raising our home.

“We had only been living in our home for six months before the floods, so it wasn’t an option for us to move afterwards. I’m happy for myself and I’m extremely happy to hear it for a lot of people around me, in the area and on my street, who will be able to raise their homes in case of flooding in the future.”

In late June, the Queensland government said a further 300 homes had been identified for voluntary buybacks for home owners in flood-prone areas as part of the Resilient Homes Fund.

The additional buybacks came as it announced 238 sale contracts had been settled so far, allowing flood-impacted citizens to “move on with their lives”, according to the government.

[Related: More Qld homes added under Resilient Homes fund]