Betterment Fund - Tropical Cyclone Jasper

About

The Queensland Government has established a $130 million Betterment Fund available to the 18 eligible local government areas in Queensland impacted by the Tropical Cyclone Jasper, associated rainfall and flooding, 13 - 28 December 2023. It is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments.

Event damaged assets in local government areas activated under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) for Category B assistance Reconstruction of Essential Public Assets (REPA) may be eligible under this fund.

The objectives of the Betterment Fund are to restore essential public assets damaged in events to a more resilient standard:

• so infrastructure and communities are more resilient to future disasters
• so future costs associated with disasters are reduced
• to address Queensland’s assessed natural hazard risks
• in alignment with the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience and the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience objectives of strengthened disaster risk management and investment in disaster risk reduction

Upfront investment in stronger infrastructure and more resilient communities saves money for all levels of government in the long-term, and the undertaking of essential public asset restoration provides an opportune time for additional investment to achieve resilient outcomes.

Betterment applications will be prioritised based on a cost benefit analysis and the demonstration of resilience outcomes. This will include the additional cost of increasing resilience and the qualitive and quantitative benefits of the improvements.

Successful projects 2023-2024

Eligibility

The assistance measures will be made available in the following impacted council areas impacted by the Tropical Cyclone Jasper, associated rainfall and flooding, 13 - 28 December 2023 event:

• Aurukun Aboriginal Shire Council
• Cairns Regional Council
• Carpentaria Shire Council
• Cassowary Coast Regional Council
• Cook Shire Council
• Douglas Shire Council
• Hinchinbrook Shire Council
• Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council
• Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council
• Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council
• Mareeba Shire Council
• Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council
• Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council
• Tablelands Regional Council
• Torres Shire Council
• Torres Strait Island Regional Council
• Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council
• Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council

Funding acknowledgement

The package is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments to support Queensland communities in their recovery from the Tropical Cyclone Jasper, associated rainfall and flooding, 13 - 28 December 2023 event.

Guidelines