Betterment the centrepiece of $450 million resilience program
Guaranteed annual investment in the Queensland Betterment Fund is the centrepiece of a $450 million program to strengthen Queensland’s resilience to natural disasters and build safer communities.
Announced by the Queensland Government as part of its 2025-26 Budget, the Queensland Resilience and Risk Reduction Program (QRRRP) will be delivered over five years and aims to establish a holistic approach to community disaster resilience in the state.
At the core of the QRRRP is a $40 million yearly allocation towards high priority Betterment infrastructure projects.
The government's Betterment initiative was first rolled out in Queensland in 2013 and is focused on rebuilding disaster impacted infrastructure like roads, bridges and drainage to a more resilient standard.
The Queensland Betterment Fund has a proven track record of protecting communities from severe weather and saving communities money through avoided costs when infrastructure is re-impacted by disaster events.
This year Betterment funding will go towards critical disaster resilience works like raising Curzon Street Bridge in Rocklea, south Brisbane, and flood mitigation measures for Laidley in the Lockyer Valley.
The QRRRP will be managed by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA), the state's lead agency for disaster resilience and recovery.
Funding for the program has come via efficiencies realised under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
DRFA efficiencies accumulate with the ongoing delivery of disaster reconstruction works, when actual project costs are lower than initial project estimates.
When achieved, the Queensland Government is able to redirect these funds towards disaster mitigation and resilience activities, helping to make communities throughout the state more resilient.
Further Betterment investments will continue to be made through the DRFA in response to major disaster events in Queensland, for example the $205 million Betterment package announced for north and Far North Queensland following this year's flooding disaster.
Other funding streams under the QRRRP will be announced in the months ahead.