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 Commonwealth encourages further research into prescribed burning and its effectiveness and into alternative bushfire mitigation approaches through improved bushfire risk understanding at the asset level.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seek to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments seek agreement from the states and territories on the optimisation and implementation of prescribed burning targets and programs to a degree that is recognised as adequate for the protection of life, property and the environment. The prescribed burning programs should include strategic evaluation of fuel management at the regional level and the results of annual fuel management in each state should be publicly reported and audited.