Review of the operations of the NSW Reconstruction Authority

Review of the operations of the NSW Reconstruction Authority

Grants and funding arrangements

58

Betterment

5.52 The Committee heard that DRFA do not adequately support betterment work.

Betterment funding is needed to ensure communities are more resilient to

increasingly frequent and severe disasters.

375 However, stakeholders said that

restrictions around betterment work under DRFA meant that councils experience

challenges in repairing infrastructure to a better and more resilient standard

following disasters.

376

5.53 Port Macquarie Hastings Council told the Committee that there was no clear

indication if betterment funding would be available in response to the May 2025

East Coast severe weather event.

377 The Authority should set out clear and well-

defined evidence requirements for making betterment claims.378

5.54 LGNSW said that betterment investment will save money in the future, but costs

more than DRFA covers.

379 Mr Reeves said Kempsey Shire Council currently has

infrastructure compromised from previous disasters, but current DRFA guidelines

meant that the council cannot 'build back better'.380 Stakeholders reported that

DRFA often only allows for the restoration of assets to pre-disaster standards,

which leaves them vulnerable to future disasters.381

5.55 Mr Tim Mackney, Board Director, Institute of Public Works Engineering

Australasia NSW and ACT, noted that there is room for the Authority to

significantly invest in betterment. Mr Mackney noted that, prior to the

establishment of the Authority, Tweed Council experienced significant delays in

receiving funding for betterment under DRFA. This was due to difficulties in

rolling out betterment funding in a way that complements and supplements

DRFA.

382

5.56 Mr Kennett told the Committee that the Authority is working to 'unlock some of

the opportunities the DRFA presents around betterment'.

383 The NSW

Government acknowledged that there is a desire among stakeholders to see a

strategic shift towards investment in disaster reduction and resilience. It also

acknowledged that investment in risk reduction and resilience via DRFA is in need

of review. However, it claimed that progress will require coordinated efforts

across all levels of government.

384

375 Submission 35, p 22; Tim Mackney, Board Director, Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA)

NSW & ACT, Transcript of evidence, 3 November 2025, p 49.

376 Submission 33, p 16; Anna Flack, Transcript of evidence, 17 February 2026, p 13; Adrian Panuccio, Transcript of

evidence, 17 February 2026, p 3; Submission 45, p 3; Submission 24, p 8; Submission 26, p 2; James Prosser,

Transcript of evidence, 17 February 2026, p 6.

377 Submission 26, p 2.

378 Submission 26, p 2.

379 Submission 35, pp 22-23.

380 Dylan Reeves, Transcript of evidence, 17 February 2026, p 6.

381 Dylan Reeves, Transcript of evidence, 17 February 2026, p 6; Submission 35, pp 22-23.

382 Tim Mackney, Transcript of evidence, 3 November 2025, p 49.

383 Graham Kennett, Transcript of evidence, 20 February 2026, p 35.

384 Submission 50, p 13.