The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with the Insurance Council of Australia to develop and publish advice on the mitigation measures households could undertake to improve the flood resilience of their property.

The Committee recommends that insurers amend their home insurance policies to provide fully paid temporary accommodation until the insurer has closed the claim, unless the extension of the time required can be demonstrated to be a result of behaviour on the part of the policyholder that is unreasonably causing delay; That final cash settlements include a provision for temporary accommodation that takes account of the Scope of Works; progress on the project to date; and a reasonable uplift; and That the cost of covering temporary accommodation should be a separate entitlement and not be funded out of the sum insured amount.

Individuals without a mobile phone who are concerned about access to Triple Zero during a prolonged telecommunications outage could consider purchasing a low cost mobile phone with a charger to keep at home for use during such outages. Since mobile phones do not require SIM cards to make emergency calls (‘000’ and ‘112’), there will be no ongoing costs.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government:
- work through the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council and in consultation with Birds Australia and other stakeholders to implement a National Shorebirds Protection Strategy. The strategy should focus on tightening restrictions on beach driving and access to bird breeding habitat, preserving habitat, identifying suitable buffer zones for migration of coastal bird habitat, managing pest animals and increased public education
- provide further funding to Birds Australia and other research groups to ensure continued monitoring and data collection with regard to migratory and resident shorebirds
- provide funding to strengthen partnerships between domestic and international shorebird conservation groups to increase awareness and conservation efforts in other countries
- commission a detailed climate change impact study on Australia’s migratory and resident shorebirds
- in its consideration of amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 following the independent review, give consideration to the formal listing of coastal shorebird and sea bird communities as threatened species/ecological communities under the act

The Committee recommends that, in seeking to expand the area protected within Australia’s National Reserve System (NRS) under the Caring for our Country program, the Australian Government focus on high biodiversity coastal habitat, including more effective off-reserve coastal zone conservation and expanded coastal reserves that provide larger buffer zones. In undertaking this initiative, the Australian Government should continue to work with state/territory and local governments, Indigenous groups, conservation organisations, private landholders and other stakeholders to ensure that these protected areas are added to the NRS in a timely manner.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments develop a mechanism that ensures that appropriate measures are taken by public and private land
managers for the eradication of weeds following a bushfire event.