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Natural disaster funding

Public Inquiry

This inquiry has concluded. The final report was sent to Government on 17 December 2014 and publicly released on 1 May 2015.

The Australian Government asked the Commission to undertake a public inquiry into the efficacy of current national natural disaster funding arrangements, taking into account the priority of effective natural disaster mitigation and the reduction in the impact of disasters on communities.

  • Issues paper9 May 2014
  • Draft report25 Sep 2014
  • Final report1 May 2015

This issues paper was released on 9 May 2014 and was intended to assist you in preparing a submission to the Commission. It covered a range of issues on which the Commission sought information and feedback.

The issues paper is no longer open for comment and the inquiry has concluded.

Examine the Issues Paper

Please note: The draft report is for research purposes only. For final outcomes of this inquiry refer to the inquiry report.

View the Draft Report

The final report was released on 1 May 2015. It looks at the efficacy of current national natural disaster funding arrangements, taking into account the priority of effective natural disaster mitigation and the reduction in the impact of disasters on communities.

The government response was available on 22 December 2016.

Read the inquiry report Read the government response

The Commission was asked to specifically report and make findings on:

  • the effectiveness and sustainability of current arrangements for funding natural disaster mitigation, resilience and recovery initiatives
  • risk management measures available to and being taken by asset owners – including the purchase of insurance as well as self-insurance options
  • the interaction between Commonwealth natural disaster funding arrangements and relevant Commonwealth/State financial arrangements
  • options to achieve an effective and sustainable balance of natural disaster recovery and mitigation to build the resilience of communities
  • projected medium and long term impacts of identified options on the Australian economy and costs for governments.