Disaster recovery - essential public asset restoration

Following an eligible disaster, state and federal funding is available to help councils restore essential public assets through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). Councils’ obligations under DRFA include admin and reporting, damage assessment and the project management of repair works. This additional workload compounds a council’s normal workload and capital works program, so can stretch the council’s resource capacity. Morrison Low provides expert assistance and we can ensure that council maximises its ability to secure available funding. Additionally, the cost of our services is usually eligible to be reimbursed through DRFA.

• Emergent works such as temporary protection prior to a disaster, immediate clean-up, and immediate repair works necessary to make safe.
• Immediate reconstruction works where works are urgent, essential and can be completed (within 3 months).
• Restoration of essential public assets (REPA) includes longer term repair and reconstruction works. Often this includes:

• Admin - notification of event and setup for capturing financial data.
• Damage assessment - including collection of photographic evidence of damage, and estimation of reconstruction cost (to restore asset to pre-disaster condition).
• Demonstration of cause of damage - only damage that is the direct result of an eligible disaster is eligible, not damage that is attributable to poor design, poor construction or poor maintenance.
• Application to relevant agency for DRFA funding (within 6 months).
• Obtaining approval of REPA application, agreement of scope of works and total upper limit grant agreed with relevant agency.
• Project management of reconstruction works (within 2 years).
• Mitigation of costs and compliance with probity, transparency and value-for-money all demand implementation of sound procurement and project delivery processes.

• Consultants and contractors engaged specifically in relation to damage assessment, project management, design and delivery of restoration works generally constitute eligible expenditure, provided the council doesn’t have spare capacity to undertake the work using its own staff, or if value-for-money can be demonstrated.
• Day labour costs (direct staff costs only) may be claimable, subject to conditions.

• Domain expertise - Morrison Low understands how councils work. We have a proven track record working in all aspects of a council’s financial reporting and infrastructure delivery pipeline.
• Corporate knowledge - we have successfully delivered similar NDRRA assistance work for NSW councils.
• Program expertise - our project management specialist, Adam Matthews, led a team that delivered $1.4 billion of post-disaster REPA work during Queensland’s series of cyclones from 2010 to 2015.