Queensland councils warn of risks to disaster recovery funding

In Queensland, Australia, severe flooding in Quilpie has intensified scrutiny of proposed changes to the Federal Government’s disaster recovery funding arrangements. Local leaders, including Quilpie Shire Council Mayor Ben Hall, warn that planned reforms to the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) could shift more financial responsibility onto local councils.

Modeling from the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) suggests that if the proposed changes had been in place since 2018, the Quilpie Shire alone would have lost $21.4 million in Federal support. On a statewide level, Queensland communities could have missed out on at least $2.8 billion. The proposed reforms include reducing the Federal Government’s overall disaster recovery contribution from an average of 64 percent to 50 percent, a move local officials argue could jeopardize community safety and essential resilience projects.