After footing the bill for January's bushfires and floods, Colac Otway council wants the state to change how it funds disasters

Colac Otway Shire Council is pushing the state government to provide disaster recovery funding to rural councils up front, rather than reimbursing costs after emergencies, arguing it was left out of pocket after January's bushfires and flood.

What happened? Councillors unanimously backed a motion at Tuesday’s July meeting to take the proposal to the Municipal Association of Victoria in October.

• The motion, moved by councillor Phil Howard, calls for the establishment of an annual up-front emergency response fund for rural councils in bushfire, flood, drought and severe storm-prone areas to support the community and increase staff training and equipment upgrades. 

🗣️ “We know we're going to suffer natural disasters more frequently and more severely,” Howard told the meeting. “So if we have funds up front, we can prepare a lot better.”

The background: Council officers said the final cost for the recovery of the Otways bushfires and Wye River flood were still being assessed, but council had received a $750,000 council support fund, primarily for fire recovery activities and the restoration of council infrastructure and services. 

• The council was also funded to hire a community recovery officer and a dedicated hub at $775,000, covering the cost of recovery initiatives for affected residents and dedicated recovery staff. 

• Reimbursement through the federal Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements is still being assessed.

What’s that? The DRFA is a joint system between the state and federal government to share the cost of funding recovery efforts in disaster-affected areas of the country.

• The National Emergency Management Agency runs the program at the federal level, while state bodies like Emergency Management Victoria manage local claims.

Footing the bill: Councillor Chris Potter said the shire’s bushfire-prone landscape meant emergency funding was a “big ticket item” for rural councils.

🗣️ “Councils are always short-changed after some sort of disaster and emergency, and councils are always at the forefront in the fight against and the recovery from disasters and emergencies,” he said.

🗣️ “We know what it's like and what's required to recover from them and to try and mitigate the occurrence of them … and we need the money to do that.”

How long will it take for more money? Although the timeline for a bigger payout for the shire is still unclear as recovery continues, the Victorian Auditor General said in a report following the October 2022 floods that flood-related claims took an average of 214 days on average to be assessed.  

• The Department of Transport and Planning has an agreement with Emergency Management Victoria that it will assess claims with all required documentation within 4 weeks.