Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) have together called on local, state and federal governments to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and to make progress on much needed reforms against a backdrop of growing housing challenges.
Experts from government, financial services, property, and community sectors gathered in Brisbane yesterday at the 2024 National Industry Roundtable: Land Use Planning and Resilience to say “the time is now for action on land use planning reforms”.
The landmark forum highlighted the critical need for industry and government to work together to protect lives and properties from intensifying flooding, bushfires, and cyclones by ensuring that low-risk areas of the country are prioritised for new development.
Effective planning is crucial for risk reduction, as building in high-risk areas exposes more homeowners to extreme weather events and widens the insurance protection gap.
Recommendations
Releasing a joint communique to help inform future land use planning settings, the industry bodies outlined recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of land use planning in managing extreme weather risk, including:
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prohibiting further development in high-risk flood-prone locations;
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enhancing and adapting building standards, and;
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taking a strategic approach to implementing home buyback programs where risks are not able to be mitigated.
ICA CEO, Mr Andrew Hall, said, “The ICA has long emphasised the importance of using a nationally consistent baseline of current and future extreme weather risk to inform where we build homes in the future, and identify which existing homes need to be relocated, retrofitted or raised to reduce community vulnerability.”
Mr Matt Collins, PIA CEO, said, “Good land-use planning can help make our communities more resilient to natural disasters.”
He added that it is critical for planners to have the tools they need, like up-to-date mapping and modelling.
He said, “PIA strongly supports the need for high-quality strategic plans that clearly identify areas where we can’t manage the risks from threats like flood and fire, with clear indications of where we simply shouldn’t be building.”
“We don’t just need more resilient homes – we need to plan for the surrounding landscape.”