Evaluating the Resilient Homes Fund

Post-disaster reconstruction incentivisation programs, such as the Resilient Homes Fund, have been adopted on the basis that investing in resilience measures in the home can significantly reduce the effort, cost and time to recover from disasters. 

Overall, studies investigating key indicators for evaluating post-disaster shelters were too focused on outputs, rather than outcomes and the impact of resilience on communities. Therefore, this research will provide actionable findings that improve the responsiveness and efficacy of recovery activities and ultimately enhance the resilience of communities. 

The Resilient Homes Fund was established to provide Queenslanders whose homes were damaged by floods access to grants to raise, retrofit or have their home voluntarily bought back. The program is being implemented across 39 Local Government Areas impacted by the 2021-22 Queensland floods. 

This project is evaluating the Resilient Homes Fund, considering the: 

• program’s design 
• engagement with stakeholders 
• implementation 
• achievement of desired outcomes, including how key aspects of the program have supported disaster affected communities to: 
  • increase their resilience, thus increasing their ability to withstand and recover from future disasters, and 
  • become more sustainable, increasing their capacity to manage their own recovery without government assistance 
• lessons learnt to date. 

The outcomes of this project will be:  

• new knowledge and evidence on how Resilient Homes Fund programs can reduce the effort, cost and time to recover from disasters, including reducing the physical, financial, social and emotional impacts on members of the community
• lessons identified regarding the design and implementation to improve the Resilient Homes Fund program and other similar programs in the future to address future disasters and to adapt to a warming climate 
• greater understanding of opportunities and barriers to the successful implementation of programs similar to the Resilient Homes Fund
• a practitioner-focused guideline on the planning, design and implementation of post-disaster resilience programs, with a focus on planned relocations, house-raising and retrofitting projects.