Review of the operations of the NSW Reconstruction Authority

Review of the operations of the NSW Reconstruction Authority

Planning powers, preparedness and adaptation

42

Recommendation 14

That the NSW Government implement ways in which betterment can be

incorporated into future funding frameworks and through the Authority should

give consideration to opportunities to work with local stakeholders to

determine which betterment initiatives are likely to deliver the greatest

savings, in the event of future reconstruction costs following a disaster.

4.25 The Committee heard consistent evidence about the importance of rebuilding

infrastructure to a more resilient standard following a disaster. In particular, the

Committee was told of the importance of betterment in reducing the long-term

costs of successive disaster events.

259 Rebuilding infrastructure to higher

standards saves significantly more in future reconstruction costs than the initial

additional investment.

260

What is 'betterment'?

Betterment refers to the practice of repairing or rebuilding disaster-damaged

assets to a higher standard than their pre-disaster condition, so that they are

better able to withstand future disaster events.'261

The Act recognises betterment as part of the Authority’s role,262 defining

'betterment of the community' in Schedule 4 of the Act to include 'improving

the community’s infrastructure so that the infrastructure is less likely to be

damaged or otherwise affected by the impact of a disaster.'263

4.26 LGNSW submitted that rebuilding infrastructure to its original specifications is

not sufficient to provide communities with the level of resilience they need in the

face of more frequent and increasingly severe disaster events.

264

4.27 Councils have long called for greater and more accessible betterment funding.265

The Hunter Joint Organisation noted that NSW Government figures indicate that

97 per cent of disaster grant funding goes to response and recovery, rather than

risk reduction, leaving betterment frequently underfunded.

266

4.28 Councils noted significant concerns about the limits of current Disaster Recovery

Funding Arrangements (DRFA) in supporting betterment. The current framework

requires councils to rebuild to pre-disaster standards, leaving assets vulnerable to

the next event. The Authority's ability to implement betterment improvements is

further constrained by short-term, competitive grant processes that do not align

259 Submission 35, p 22.

260 Submission 35, p 22.

261 NSW Government, Infrastructure Betterment Fund, accessed 23 April 2026.

262 NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022, s 4(b)(iii).

263 NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022, sch 4.

264 Submission 35, p 22.

265 Submission 35, p 22.

266 Submission 33, p 13.