Turning the tide

Strengthening the flood resilience of the homes of Victorians experiencing poverty and disadvantage

Victoria’s flood risk is increasing, with catastrophic flood events predicted to double by the end of the century. One of the most catastrophic flood events in Victoria’s history occurred in October 2022, inundating hundreds of homes across Northern Victoria and Maribyrnong. Currently, about 20,000 homes in Victoria face severe and extreme flood risk.

Major flood events have devastating impacts. When people’s homes are damaged or destroyed, the effects on livelihoods, income-earning ability, education, health and wellbeing can persist for years. Many Victorians impacted by the 2022 floods are still on the far-too-long road to recovery. This compounds existing disadvantage in households and communities.

It need not be this way. By making Victoria’s highest-risk homes more resilient to future floods, these disastrous impacts can be addressed.

We spoke to ‘everyday’ people and community service organisations across Northern Victoria and Maribyrnong to understand what support Victorian households – especially those on low incomes – need to improve their flood resilience. We also reviewed flood resilience programs and policy outside Victoria to identify lessons that could be applied here.

By making Victoria’s highest-risk homes more resilient to future floods, these disastrous impacts can be addressed.

By supporting Victorians in flood-prone areas to improve the resilience of their homes, we can help break the link between disadvantage and disasters and reduce the devastating impacts of future floods.

These are our key findings:

• Victoria can improve flood resilience by supporting communities to lead and by building on efforts in other jurisdictions. Evidence from NSW and Queensland points to the importance of collaboration between Commonwealth and state governments, and to the imperative of financing adaptation across the public and private sectors.
• Exposure to flood risk is not equal. Victorians experiencing poverty and disadvantage are more likely to be exposed to major flooding because of where they live – which is particularly concerning as climate change increases the risk of major flooding across Victoria.
• Housing-related flood recovery takes far too long. Previous research has found that disaster recovery, including psychological recovery, can take upwards of 10 years. More than three years after the 2022 floods, some Victorians have not returned to a safe, healthy and stable home.
• Most Victorians who were impacted by the 2022 floods are still exposed to future flood events. The flood resilience of most homes has not improved since the event because support is not available when and where it is needed most. The people we spoke to identified access to financial resources and information around flood resilient housing as their top priorities for support.
• Insurers are a significant roadblock to building resilience. People are increasingly under- or uninsured, and even those with insurance face barriers to building back better through insurance.