The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the representative body for the Australian insurance industry, praised the New South Wales (NSW) Government’s 2024-25 budget for its significant resilience funding, aimed at improving community protection and insurance affordability.
Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia, commented: “Today’s budget announcements are important investments in the future of New South Wales communities and should improve insurance outcomes in the State.”
“By prioritising resilience initiatives, the Government is taking a proactive approach to safeguarding lives and property from the increasing threat of extreme weather events,” Hall continued.
The $5.7 billion four-year package includes $525 million for the Resilient Homes Fund in the Northern Rivers and Central West regions to mitigate flood risk and safeguard lives in vulnerable areas.
Additionally, $87.4 million is allocated to the Resilient Lands Programme to support flood recovery, future planning, and relocation of homeowners in high-risk zones.
This investment follows insurance data showing $4 billion in insured losses from extreme weather in NSW over the past two years.
The ICA also welcomed the government’s commitment to abolish the Emergency Services Levy (ESL), which, alongside stamp duty, makes insurance in NSW 20 to 40 percent more expensive than in other states.
The Budget Papers indicate that without reform, the government would collect over $12 billion from insurance customers in the coming years. The ongoing ESL reforms aim to alleviate this financial burden and align NSW with other mainland states and territories.
Hall further added: “The Government’s recommitment to removing the ESL is welcome and will ease the burden on New South Wales insurance customers. For years the ESL has unfairly penalised insurance customers in the State, who because of flood risk already pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country.”
