Disaster Recovery Funding Framework

Published on 03 September 2026

Thanks, But No Thanks – SWQROC Communities Should Not be Left Worse Off as part of Disaster Management Reforms

South West Queensland’s six councils have stood shoulder to shoulder with their Western Queensland colleagues in unanimously rejecting the Federal Government’s proposed disaster recovery funding reforms. The 25 councils of the Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) today voted overwhelmingly at the 7th WQAC Assembly in Brisbane in favour of a motion calling for the reversal of the planned changes, the most hotly debated topic of the Assembly.

The South West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (SWQROC) – representing the Balonne, Bulloo, Maranoa, Murweh, Paroo aQuilpie councils – has already lodged a submission signed by all six Mayors opposing the reforms in their current form, and today confirmed its position stands.

SWQROC Chair and Balonne Shire Mayor Samantha O’Toole thanked the Minister for Emergency Management and Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the Hon Kristy McBain MP for attending the Assembly to address what the Minister herself called the “elephant in the room”.

“We genuinely thank Minister McBain for coming to the Assembly and fronting the tough discussions. It counts for a great deal that the Minister was in the room, listening and engaging directly with the councils who live with these disasters,” Mayor O’Toole said.

“But respect for the conversation doesn’t change our position. In solidarity with our WQAC colleagues, SWQROC cannot support these reforms as they are currently drafted.

“You don’t streamline a system by cutting it. What is on the table would have taken $126 million out of South West Queensland’s recovery since 2018 – out of the roads that get cattle to market, kids to school and ambulances to patients.”

Addressing delegates, Minister McBain reassured councils that the reforms were not designed to leave them carrying the financial burden.

“Councils are not required to contribute funding under the current arrangements, and these proposed reforms don’t change that,” Minister McBain said. “They simply mean that the Commonwealth and the state government will equally share the cost of recovery.”

Minister McBain pointed to the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, arguing the reforms would cut red tape, streamline complex processes and ensure funding flows faster to the ground.

However, modelling from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) projects that the proposed shift from the current arrangements, where the Commonwealth contribution has historically risen to as much as 75 per cent beyond certain thresholds, to a strict 50:50 cost-sharing model would leave Queensland communities facing a funding gap estimated at $713 million from the last disaster season alone.

For South West Queensland, the numbers are stark.

Since 2018, SWQROC councils have activated disaster recovery support for 59 separate events, drawing on $897.6 million in DRFA program funding. Under the proposed 50:50 model, SWQROC modelling shows the Commonwealth contribution to that same recovery effort would have been $125.7 million lower, a 22 per cent cut, with a further $10.2 million in Counter Disaster Operations funding now “subject to consultation”.

Not one of the 15 Betterment projects delivered across the region since 2013 would have qualified under the framework’s proposed 15 per cent resilience cap, leaving a shortfall of approximately $17.7 million.

SWQROC has also warned that the proposed $2.7 million activation threshold could see events like the 2024 Dirranbandi fire – where residents were evacuated but damage to public infrastructure was limited – fail to qualify for assistance, potentially leaving affected residents without access to personal hardship support.

SWQROC Deputy Chair Mayor Shaun Radnedge said the cost of rebuilding in remote Queensland did not get smaller because Canberra decided to pay less.

“Betterment means we are not rebuilding the same problem after every event. Projects like the Paroo River Bridge at Eulo and the South Comongin Crossing keep communities supplied, freight and livestock moving, and road users safe during prolonged flooding,” Mayor Radnedge said.

“What changes under this proposal is who carries the risk and more of it is pushed onto the State, councils and ultimately the communities least able to absorb it.”

Queensland Minister for Local Government and Water, and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers, Ann Leahy, told the Assembly the changes would hit councils directly, noting Queensland receives on average around 64 per cent in Commonwealth funding for disaster recovery and describing the proposed 50:50 shift as a “wrecking ball” that would leave communities worse off.

The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) which is leading its "Dump this disaster of a deal" campaign confirmed that if the Federal Government does not reverse the changes in the coming months, its campaign will be taken all the way to the next federal election.

Mayor O’Toole said SWQROC was nonetheless encouraged by the Minister’s commitment that consultation and dialogue would continue.

“We welcome the Minister’s assurance that this conversation isn’t over. Our councils will be first in the queue to help design a faster, simpler system with less red tape – a reform that is genuinely overdue,” Mayor O’Toole said.

“But the bottom line has not moved: South West Queensland communities should not be made worse off so the Commonwealth can reduce its contribution.

“Reform should leave disaster-hit communities better off. Get that right, and the south west will back it all the way.”

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Media contact: Simone Talbot, Executive Officer, SWQROC - simone.talbot@swqroc.com.au