Residents across the Central West of NSW impacted by the 2022 floods have begun to receive their free home assessment reports from the NSW Reconstruction Authority's $40 million Resilient Homes Program.
The assessments, which are done by an independent flood resilience expert, give advice to homeowners on how to make their properties more resilient to flooding. Since applications for the Resilient Homes Program opened on 28 October 2024, the Reconstruction Authority has received 200 applications and undertaken 125 home assessments, with more to be scheduled in the immediate future.
After the independent property assessment, homeowners receive a report with information on resilience options they may be eligible for. Then the homeowner is able to choose the option that works best for them. Five property buybacks have also been progressed with formal offers being made to owners.
The Resilient Homes Program was announced in October 2024 as part of the $100 million Central West Recovery and Resilience package, which also includes funding to support the reconstruction of transport infrastructure and community assets and is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
The Resilient Homes Program supports resilience and safety so that people can continue to live in the communities they love. The program has three streams:
- Home Buybacks - eligible homeowners in highest risk areas may receive a payment for the purchase of their home and land in areas that have a very high risk of future floods.
- Resilient Measures - grant funding of between $50,000 and $100,000 to eligible homeowners to raise liveable areas of their home, relocate their home, rebuild a more resilient home or retrofit their home with more resilient materials and innovative design features.
- Free Home Assessments - a flood resilience expert will help identify opportunities with eligible homeowners to increase the resilience of a home.
Eligibility for the Resilient Homes Program also takes people's individual circumstances into account, with priority given to those facing additional barriers and challenges that could increase their vulnerability or risk in future flooding events.
