This project will help councils and relevant state consent authorities continue to implement existing flood controls, from assessment through to approval, and identify whether further guidance is needed to implement these controls in construction.
Specifically, this research will:
- provide insights into the constraints faced by councils in implementing flood controls and, where relevant, conduct further analysis into causes of constraint and suggest appropriate solutions
- provide an overview of where buildings are built to current flood standards and, if not, investigate how flood controls could be applied effectively in the construction of buildings
- identify any existing gaps and solutions in councils’ implementation of flood controls to new buildings and modified existing buildings
- identify opportunities where land-use planning, at a state and local government level, could be adjusted to ensure more flood-resilient communities are created to facilitate greater implementation
- identify the flood and hazard level (e.g. high or low hazard) and hazard category, based on the hazard vulnerability curves by the Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience
- include a control group of destroyed buildings that were not constructed using flood controls and compare them with buildings with flood controls in the same area to determine how effective flood controls are in practice.
The research will be used to inform possible future directions for flood conditions in the planning system to provide simple, effective flood provisions for the safety and resilience of communities.
Land-use planning is a critical control to reduce the risk of future flooding as it guides where homes, businesses and infrastructure are built. In short, land-use planning can determine a large part of the future exposure and vulnerability of communities to flooding.
There is limited knowledge about how current planning system flood controls are being implemented and, if implemented, if they are being maintained in perpetuity and if they are effective. Hence, there is an urgent need to evaluate their implementation and the outcomes achieved.
This project will provide an evidence base to understand the effectiveness of New South Wales (NSW) planning provisions addressing flooding for land releases and buildings that have been built or modified in the last 10 years. The research will be used to inform consideration of existing legislation, standards and policy from which improved land use planning can be developed.
The project will include detailed case studies that analyse and compare buildings constructed with flood planning controls vs. buildings not constructed with flood planning controls in the same or similar area to determine the effectiveness of flood planning controls, considering both economic and social factors.
This project is aimed at increasing state and local government understanding of the effect that planning controls are having on the resilience of communities and buildings to flood impacts. Through national stakeholder workshops, the final report, and other knowledge sharing opportunities, the project will identify and share insights and lessons that may be used to inform future directions for flood policy in other jurisdictional planning systems in addition to NSW.
