A flood-prone freight and community corridor in south-western New South Wales is set for a major upgrade, with the project illustrating how federal mitigation funding is being used as the insurance sector calls for longer-term resilience investment. The Albanese government will allocate almost $2.5 million from the Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) to works on Oxley Road between Balranald and Oxley, with Balranald Shire contributing a further $613,000.
The funding package will rebuild two low-lying segments of 1.5 kilometres and 1.3 kilometres, raising the carriageway and installing drainage culverts. Oxley Road was closed for 18 months following flooding in September 2022, disrupting freight flows, emergency service access, and travel for rural communities. Although the road reopened in 2024, structural and surface damage has restricted it to local access only, shifting freight to alternative regional routes and increasing costs and travel times for operators and residents.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain said the project is intended to support continuity of local economic activity and services. “The Oxley Road Upgrade Project will bring economic and social benefits to Balranald Shire by assisting business continuity, creating employment, and supporting tourism. It will deliver a long-term flood resilience solution that aligns with both the Australian and NSW governments’ disaster mitigation strategies,” McBain said.
NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said the works are designed to reduce the risk of communities being cut off during future events. “This investment is about moving beyond just repairing damage – it’s about building back better so our regional communities aren’t cut off when the next big rain event hits. This project is a practical, common-sense solution that provides long-term certainty for local freight and families, reducing the recovery burden on the Shire in the years to come,” Saffin said.
Balranald Shire Council Mayor Louie Zaffina said the successful DRF application will allow the council to proceed with restoration and resilience works on a key transport link. “The Balranald Shire Council is pleased to announce that our recent application to the Australian government’s Disaster Ready Fund has been successful. This funding represents a significant achievement for the Balranald Shire Council and will directly support the upgrade of the Oxley Road that sustained major damage during the 2022 flood event.”
Zaffina added: “Securing this grant ensures we can move forward with essential restoration and resilience works that will strengthen our infrastructure and better protect our community in future emergencies. This is extremely positive news for our Shire and reflects the hard work and commitment of everyone involved in preparing the application and advocating for our community’s needs. Further updates on project timelines and next steps will be shared as planning progresses.”
Federal Senator for NSW Deborah O’Neill said the project forms part of a broader infrastructure and community resilience agenda. “This is a critical investment in the infrastructure that supports the economic and community life of our state. Everyone in Farrer benefits when we work together to ensure our roads and infrastructure are built to withstand the challenges that the natural environment sends our way,” O’Neill said.
The Oxley Road upgrade is among 18 New South Wales initiatives backed under Round Three of the DRF, with $68.3 million allocated to the state. The NSW Reconstruction Authority administers the program locally. Nationally, the DRF is a federal disaster resilience and risk-reduction program providing up to $1 billion over five years from July 1, 2023, funded at up to $200 million a year and matched by states and territories.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) manages the fund in partnership with state and territory emergency management bodies, including program guidelines, application processes, and funding agreements. Round One committed $200 million to 185 projects in 2023-24. Round Two provided another $200 million to 171 projects in 2024-25, with changes made after some initial projects were unable to proceed. Round Three will support up to 96 projects in 2025-26. The DRF’s stated objectives include improving understanding of disaster impacts, increasing resilience and preparedness across governments and communities, and reducing exposure to risk and the scale and cost of recovery. The fund is a major source of public investment in mitigation projects that can influence hazard exposure, catastrophe losses, and the long-term insurability of high-risk regions.
Against this policy backdrop, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has recently renewed its call for the DRF to be converted into a rolling 10-year program, with funding indexed and a stronger emphasis on infrastructure projects that address disaster risk. Under the existing settings, the DRF provides up to $200 million a year for five years from 2023-24, matched by states and territories, reflecting commitments advocated in the ICA’s earlier Building a More Resilient Australia platform.
The council cites previous analysis undertaken with Finity indicating that a roughly $2 billion program of resilience measures over five years could reduce costs to governments and households by more than $19 billion by 2050, implying a benefit-cost ratio close to 10:1. The ICA argues that extending Commonwealth mitigation funding beyond the current 2028-29 end date through a 10-year rolling model would support more consistent pipelines of projects in high-risk areas and provide greater certainty for long-duration works. It also says DRF allocations should be indexed from 2024-25 to prevent the real value of funding from declining over time. According to the council, indexation would cost about $396 million over 11 years, with around $63 million within the forward estimates, and would see annual funding rise to approximately $266 million by 2034-35. Over a decade, total program costs are estimated at about $2.5 billion, which the ICA contrasts with the cost of disaster recovery payments and allowances in 2022 alone.
The ICA maintains that an ongoing, indexed DRF would support mitigation projects with the potential to reduce physical risk and, over time, influence pressure on premiums in high-hazard areas. Its recommendations to governments include:
The council also points to other initiatives relevant to risk reduction, including the Hazard Insurance Partnership between industry and government, buyback and retrofit schemes such as the Northern Rivers and Queensland Resilient Homes programs, and a ministerial commitment to make resilience a specific objective of the Australian Building Codes Board from 2025. The Oxley Road works and the broader DRF portfolio show how public infrastructure spending, funding design, and industry advocacy intersect in efforts to reduce disaster losses, manage accumulation risk, and shape the long-term affordability and availability of cover in flood- and hazard-exposed regions.
