PROJECT
Voluntary Home Buy Back - City of Moreton Bay
The $741M Resilient Homes Fund (RHF) was developed by the Queensland and Australian Governments to help Queenslanders whose homes were impacted by the 2021-22 Southern Queensland floods. City of Moreton Bay (CMB) received funding under the Voluntary Home Buy Back Program (VHBB), one of three RHF programs, to acquire 56 homes identified as the most severely flood-impacted and at the greatest risk of future flooding. In November 2022, CPM was engaged by Council to provide overarching project management of the VHBB with responsibility for Qld Reconstruction Authority project liaison, property acquisitions and house demolitions, sites remediation, rezoning to a non-habitable use and stakeholder management.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Location
Moreton Bay, Queensland
Client
City of Moreton Bay
Project Value
$48 million
Contract Period
Nov 2022 - Sep 2024
PROJECT BACKGROUND
CMB was one of the most severely impacted LGAs following severe weather and major flooding in February 2022. Administered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA), the VHBB Program provided funding to Local Government Authorities (LGAs) for the purchase of eligible properties, where it was determined that repair, retrofitting or raising was not suitable to address the flood risk.
Eligible homeowners were invited to register their interest in any or all three programs in the RHF, the VHBB, the Home Raising Program and the Resilient Retrofit program. While the latter two programs were directly delivered by government agencies, the VHBB was co-delivered by CMB and QRA. VHBB property acquisitions were concentrated in the most severely flood impacted regions of Moreton Bay including Deception Bay, Rothwell, Morayfield and Caboolture.
CPM SCOPE OF WORK
In November 2022, CMB engaged CPM Advisory and Project Management to:
- provide overarching project management of the VHBB for Council
- liaise with Queensland Reconstruction Authority to ensure state/commonwealth requirements for reporting and budget expenditure are met
- coordinate various Council teams to ensure the project was delivered efficiently and to the required standard
- coordinate and manage all aspects including site safety, settle property purchases, procurement of contractors for demolition, revegetation, fencing, rezoning of land, squatters and community engagement
- inform internal stakeholders of project progress and respond to Council and homeowner/community concerns related to the works.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
- CPM was able to work collaboratively with diverse Council teams to facilitate the acquisition of 56 severely flood affected houses, demolition of buildings, and remediation of all sites to a standard suitable for recreation and open space or environmental management and conservation.
- In a first of its kind project for CMB, CPM provided a key coordination role between Queensland Reconstruction Authority and Council to develop good processes, resolve emerging issues and allow efficient delivery of a large program of works.
- As a key project outcome, Council has now substantially reduced the impact of future flood events on Moreton Bay residents following the permanent removal of houses from the most flood-prone areas.
- CPM provided vulnerable homeowners, dealing with the loss of their home and possessions, with a kind liaison person who would help them navigate the bureaucracy of a multi-agency program to efficiently vacate their home. The vulnerability of these stakeholders was not appreciated before CPM advocated firm but fair outcomes with the funding agencies. This liaison increased the speed of delivery and improved outcomes for the program.
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