Debris removal and management
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About removal and management of disaster waste and debris from residential properties and essential public assets
Category A/B Counter Disaster Operations (CDO)
Eligibility for Category A/B Counter Disaster Operations (CDO) is limited to removal of disaster related debris from residential properties to make it safe, habitable and accessible, preventing displacement of the resident. This includes:
- clean-up activities inside and immediately outside a home, including removal of fallen trees and disaster waste
- removal of disaster related debris, such as mud, damaged furniture and whitegoods
- removal of building material debris caused by the disaster, such as tiles, bricks and broken glass.
These activities can be undertaken in the immediate aftermath of an event to assist the community to recover. It is recommended that clean-up activities are limited to the impacted area and any public announcement or signage outlines the intent of the clean-up.
Table 1 below outlines the Category A/B CDO eligible activities and associated extraordinary costs, and ineligible activities and associated expenditure for:
- disaster waste directly related to the disaster
- event related debris & building material
- disaster waste, debris, trees and emergent works.
Table 1: Disaster waste directly related to the disaster - Category A/B Counter Disaster Operations - Eligible and ineligible activities
| Eligible activities and associated expenditure |
Ineligible activities and associated expenditure |
|---|
- removal of event related debris from residential properties such as mud, damaged furniture and whitegoods from footpaths, where debris was placed there by the resident (or a person on behalf of the resident)
- removal and disposal of spoiled perishable food from footpaths, where it was placed there by the resident (or a person on behalf of the resident)
- removal of event damaged residential building material debris such as tiles, bricks, roof sheeting, broken glass from footpaths, where debris was place there by resident (or a person on behalf of the resident)
- removing trees impacting the safe access to a house by State Emergency Service members (or equivalent)
- removing disaster waste or debris from the residential property by Council or a third party contractor. This is a case-by-case assessment and must be the only option available to allow safe access for the resident (e.g. elderly person with high needs medical issues). Additional information may be required to demonstrate this need.
- transportation and disposal of above-mentioned disaster waste collected to either a permanent or temporary dump site
- establishment of temporary dump sites to accommodate disaster waste removed from residential properties (including establishment, operation and decommissioning costs)
- transport of skip bins and disposal of disaster waste placed in residential areas, in lieu of clean-up operations
- mulching of disaster waste
- management and operational costs of volunteers to assist residents remove debris from their property
- felling of dangerous trees/removal of debris, off an essential public asset to allow emergency services access or evacuation of the area.
|
- disaster waste collection from an area of the yard not impacting on making the residential property safe, habitable and accessible
- disaster waste collection from sheds or similar structures
- disaster waste collection from backyards of residential properties
- disaster waste collection from non-residential properties (regardless if the disaster waste came from a residential property – e.g. recreational facilities, parks, commercial or community properties)
- disaster waste collection from footpaths after original clean-up has been undertaken (e.g. Council has completed clean-up in the immediate aftermath, then debris is placed on footpath from residential property months later)
- debris and building material collection from footpaths that was placed there by builders repairing the residential house
- suburb-wide disaster waste clean-up when full suburb was not impacted
- activities that are covered by insurance
- removal of event related debris, building material and spoiled perishable foods from businesses
- felling of dangerous tress/removal of debris off an essential public asset not related to the evacuation of an area (Emergency Works eligible)
|
Category B – Emergency Works for Essential Public Assets
Eligibility of Category B – Emergency Works for essential public assets is limited to:
- eligible essential public assets that have been directly impacted or damaged by an eligible event, to allow the asset to be re-opened
- emergency works undertaken within three months from date of impact.
Table 2 outlines the Category B Emergency Works eligible activities and associated extraordinary costs, and ineligible activities and associated expenditure for:
- disaster waste, debris and trees.
Table 2: Event related debris & building material - Category A/B Emergency Works for Essential Public Assets - Eligible and ineligible activities
| Eligible activities and associated extraordinary costs |
Ineligible activities and associated expenditure |
|---|
- removal of event related disaster debris impacting on an essential public asset
- removal of event damaged trees where a significant portion of the tree is impacting on the essential public asset
- removal of damaged/dangerous trees impacting on an essential public asset to make safe and functional
- clearing of event debris (including ash or other contaminants)from open drains on essential public assets
- transportation and disposal of the above disaster waste
- establishment of a temporary dump site to accommodate disaster waste mentioned above (including establishment, operation and decommissioning costs)
- mulching of disaster waste mentioned above
- arborist reports undertaken to identify trees damaged by the disaster and are posing a threat to the safe functioning of the essential public asset.
|
- removal of non-event related disaster waste, debris or trees from any assets
- removal of event related disaster waste, debris or trees from ineligible assets, e.g. recreational facilities, parks, cemeteries, commercial or community properties
- removal of debris or trees where the debris or trees have damaged an insured asset and the removal is covered by insurance
- tree trimming prior to event occurring and ongoing maintenance of trees
- removal of trees not directly damaged by the event
- arborist reports undertaken on trees not posing a threat to the safe functioning of the essential public asset
- removal of trees that may die or pose a safety risk in the future due to event damage
- consequential damage caused as a result of removing debris
- suburb-wide disaster waste/kerbside clean-up
- activities that are covered by insurance.
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NOTE: The above policy advice is general in nature and all activities undertaken and expenditure incurred will be assessed for eligibility by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. Where there are (unintended) inconsistencies between this advice, the Commonwealth Arrangements and the Queensland Guidelines, the Commonwealth Arrangements will prevail.
Last reviewed: March 2022
