The committee recommends that the Australian Government pursue the abolition of general taxes on insurance through the Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council and other relevant ministerial council arrangements.

The committee recommends that the Treasurer issue a Ministerial Direction to require the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor premium prices across Australia and to publish its monitoring reports on a quarterly basis on its website.

The committee recommends that insurance companies in Australia be required to provide policyholders with a sufficient breakdown and explanation of insurance premium costs, including details of price changes in response to resilience and disaster mitigation measures undertaken by the policyholder.

The committee recommends that the Australian Climate Service and the National Emergency Management Agency work with all levels of government and industry to establish and maintain a national disaster risk map and database, covering all types of natural disasters in Australia, which is accessible to the public.

The committee recommends that Treasury expand the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool to cover all natural disasters. The expansion should:
- take account of lessons learned from the operationalisation of the current pool; and
- incorporate incentives for participating insurance companies to invest in disaster mitigation and resilience measures

That the Australian Government signal to partners and suppliers that the National Climate Service is open to collaborating and data sharing

That the Australian Government require all publicly funded climate models to be published on the National Computing Infrastructure with minimal restrictions, to encourage wide reuse and scientific scrutiny.

That the National Climate Service Improve access and usability of climate information by making Commonwealth-funded products free and open-source by default.

That the Australian Government establish an appropriate data solution (e.g. a data platform) to publish climate and hazard data; enable federated data curation including for domain data; support access for a broad range of data providers and public; create data insights and publish information as needed.

That the National Climate Service establish and grow a knowledge brokering service that assists users to find the data, information and advice needed to resolve their climate questions and understand the uncertainty inherent in climate models.

That the Australian Government develop a long-term national strategy and funding approach for computational infrastructure and data storage for climate data and modelling.

That the National Climate Service 5.2 establish a portal for climate information, products and services sourced from across a range of quality assured providers that:
5.2.1. gradually builds over time a library of open-source climate information products and services
5.2.2. provides publicly available, up-to-date climate information for Australia (including states and territory regions and coastal zones, Australia’s oceanic Exclusive Economic Zone and external territories)
5.2.3. presents information in easy-to-understand ways with a variety of formats for download and visualisation
5.2.4. includes external, reputable information from up-to-date sources domestically and around the world, including from other national and transnational climate services.

That the National Climate Service develop robust quality assurance processes for data, tools, information and services provided by the National Climate Service and made available on the climate information portal.

That the National Climate Service conduct a gap analysis of Australia’s climate data and information needs and user literacy and refresh this regularly.

That the National Climate Service promote data standards to integrate and connect data from different fields, aligned with international best practice.

That the Australian Government require, and fund as necessary, the responsible agencies to uplift natural hazard data inputs to a level required by the National Climate Service and the National Emergency Management Agency, with co-ordination of data for emergency management (e.g. hazard extent mapping, forecasting and tracking of historical events) to be managed by National Emergency Management Agency and hazard projections to be co-ordinated by the National Climate Service.

That the Australian Government require the National Emergency Management Agency make its data and products opensource and accessible to government and the public wherever possible.

The Committee recommends the Australian Securities and Investments Commission consider seeking data from insurers on their performance based on the metrics recommended in Recommendation 51:
- Quarterly, for business-as-usual operations
- Monthly, for each declared event.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government ultimately move towards a national, centralised, public-facing portal containing flood risk data at the household level for:
- all households and small businesses across Australia, and
- all land being considered for release for development and all land that has been released for development, but not yet developed.
Agencies tasked with developing the portal should reflect upon governments’ past efforts to develop similar portals and lessons learnt. The portal should be easily accessible, user friendly and display high-quality flood risk information in a way that is readily understandable to communities. That before data is released on such a portal for existing properties (residential and small business), that the entity creating the flood study release that data through a staged process involving appropriate community consultation and engagement.

The Committee recommends the Insurance Council of Australia in consultation with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission provide guidance to insurers about providing greater detail and clarity to policyholders on their rights and risks when an offer is made for a final cash settlement, including the risks policyholders should be aware of for the project management of repairs. This would align with elements of recommendation 71 of the Independent Review of the General Insurance Code of Practice’s Initial Report, and the Committee recommends that this recommendation be implemented in full.

The Committee recommends that the New South Wales and Tasmanian governments collaborate with industry and local governments to reform emergency services levies, aiming to enhance premium affordability and reduce barriers to insurance uptake.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the General Insurance Code Governance Committee share data so that it is possible to evaluate breaches of the General Insurance Code of Practice in the context of an insurers’ overall claims profile.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to ensure flood maps are produced to a high standard across the nation, regardless of the size of the local government area producing the modelling. This may require:
- increased funding for local government areas and water authorities, and
- the development of agreed standards to ensure that flood mapping is completed to at least an agreed minimum standard.
That, over time, this higher quality flood modelling be made freely accessible to homeowners and the general public along with easy to understand information about flood risk exposures at each property. This may be best undertaken in the first instance by local councils and/or water authorities responsible for generating the flood modelling, consistent with Recommendation 3 of the Actuaries Institute’s Funding for Flood Costs report (August 2023).

The Committee recommends that insurers explore offering innovative insurance products that have the potential to improve the operation of the insurance market, including:
- More flexible insurance products for small business, including:
- partial coverage for small businesses in high-risk areas; and
- cashflow assistance or other temporary benefits that might help a small business survive the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster.
- Parametric insurance, particularly in high-risk areas and/or for consumers facing affordability stress.

The Committee recommends the Australian Government establish a mechanism for creating and funding an independent expert panel of hydrologists to undertake hydrology reports if the policyholder disputes the findings of the first report.
- One model for such a panel could be the use of medical panels for compensation cases.
- Government and industry should explore how such a panel could be funded.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code Governance Committee publish aggregate data on code breaches by clause, individual insurer, and brand.

The Committee recommends that insurers be required to ensure that people paying premiums monthly do not pay more.

The Committee recommends the Australian Government and Insurance Council of Australia explore measures to facilitate the exchange of substantiated information about the resilience of a property to insurers, including new mitigation measures undertaken through state-based grant and loan programs.

The Committee recommends that insurers invest in their IT systems to improve the storage of policyholders’ key documentation and case notes, including correspondence and discussions. Case managers should also be suitably trained and resourced to implement quality record-keeping.

The Committee recommends that, if a policy renewal falls due when there is long delay in claim handling or the completion of the project, the insurer should:
- be required to offer a reduced form of cover, with an appropriately lower premium
- this cover should include public liability cover and sufficient cover for the building in its damaged state (noting that some consumers are being sent standard premium renewals, which amounts to excessive cover).

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to work with the insurance industry through the Hazards Insurance Partnership to collate:
- data contained in the National Flood Information Database, and
- household-level data held by insurers (de-identified where appropriate).

The Committee recommends that insurance brokers and insurers be required to provide clear guidance on the operation of averaging provisions to small and medium sized businesses.
The Australian Government should also consider prohibiting averaging provisions for small businesses.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s MoneySmart life insurance claims comparison tool be extended to general insurance.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government commission research into effective ways of communicating flood risk to communities. The research may explore communities’ understanding of the Average Recurrence Interval, categories such as High, Medium or Low flood risk, and the Annual Exceedance Probability percentage. The research should be used to establish standard best-practice communication strategies for local governments and other stakeholders in communicating flood risk to communities.

The Committee recommends that the Insurance Council of Australia in conjunction with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission develop guidelines on how insurers can apply tighter internal controls on the oversight of building contractors, including guidelines on community expectations for industry to improve their oversight practices.

The Commonwealth should prioritise its data coordination efforts, including the provision of timely decision relevant information to assist decision makers to manage their risks and satisfy their disaster management objectives.
- Relevant data includes disaster risk information, climate hazard impact, capability and capacity information and vulnerability data.
-The data provided should be in a format that is usable by decision makers across all levels of government.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with state, territory and local governments and road agencies, including Austroads and the National Transport Research Organisation, to address existing road asset data gaps by developing a comprehensive understanding of the road network condition and standardised road asset dataset, with agreement on the following:
- a common definition of road asset data
- a consistent format across road asset data collection and storage.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool be utilised by the Australian Climate Service to examine projected impacts on strategic road network routes.

For future emergency response programs, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water develop requirements for service provider reporting that enables output and outcome data to be compared or aggregated to provide assessment of progress at the program level.

Australian, state and territory governments should ensure greater consistency and collaboration in the collation, storage, access and provision of data on the distribution and conservation status of Australian flora and fauna. 

Australian, state and territory governments should produce downscaled climate
projections:
(1) to inform the assessment of future natural disaster risk by relevant decision makers, including state and territory government agencies with planning and emergency management responsibilities
(2) underpinned by an agreed common core set of climate trajectories and timelines, and
(3) subject to regular review. 

Australian, state and territory governments should agree to: 
(1) develop consistent and compatible methods and metrics to measure health impacts related to natural disasters, including mental health, and 
(2) take steps to ensure the appropriate sharing of health and mental health datasets. 

The material published as part of this Royal Commission should remain available and accessible on a long-term basis for the benefit of individuals, communities, organisations, businesses and all levels of government. 

Australian, state and territory governments should create common information platforms and share technologies to enable collaboration in the production, analysis, access, and exchange of information, data and knowledge about climate and disaster risks. 

Australian, state and territory governments should support ongoing research and evaluation into aerial firefighting. This research and evaluation should include:
(1) assessing the specific capability needs of states and territories, and
(2) exploring the most effective aerial firefighting strategies. 

In reviewing the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Australian, state and territory governments should examine the small disaster criterion, and financial thresholds generally. 

Australian, state and territory governments should prioritise the implementation of harmonised data governance and national data standards. 

The Australian Government should afford appropriate legal protections from civil and criminal liability to Australian Defence Force members when conducting activities under an authorisation to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.

The insurance industry, as represented by the Insurance Council of Australia, working with state and territory governments and other relevant stakeholders, should produce and communicate to consumers clear guidance on individual-level natural hazard risk mitigation actions insurers will recognise in setting insurance premiums. 

Australian, state and territory governments should establish a national register of fire and emergency services personnel, equipment and aerial assets. 

Australian, state and territory governments should develop consistent processes for the classification, recording and sharing of fuel load data. 

Australian, state and territory governments should continue to develop a greater capacity to collect and share standardised and comprehensive natural disaster impact data. 

The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in cooperation with the Tasmanian Government: • recognise the need to identify the ecological and biodiversity impacts of fire on fire sensitive vegetation communities, organic soils and endemic fauna species in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area; and • allocate long-teerm funding to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and/or the Tasmanian Government to assist with the development of fire assessment and modelling specifically suited to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority reintroduces a ‘use of discretion’ procedure that gives operators or individuals the opportunity to discuss and, if necessary, remedy a perceived breach prior to CASA taking any formal action. This procedure is to be followed in all cases, except where CASA identifies a Serious and Imminent Risk to Air Safety.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority continues to provide appropriate indemnity to all industry personnel with delegations of authority.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority reassesses the penalties in the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority introduces grading of Non-Compliance Notices on a scale of seriousness.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority shares the risk assessment outputs of Sky Sentinel, its computerised risk assessment system, with the applicable authorisation holder.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau transfers information from Mandatory Occurrence Reports to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, without redaction or de-identification.

Defence should not procure any firefighting vehicle for Marrangaroo Training Area without first consulting relevant personnel within the Rural Fire Service on an appropriate type of vehicle, and obtaining training for the personnel proposed to use it. Alternatively, Defence should explore contracted firefighitng support during periods of live-fire on Marrangaroo Training Area.

Firefighitng capability at Marrangaroo Training Area be upgraded so that Australian Defence Force members are not placed in situations of unacceptable risk. Specifically, those participating in range practices must have access to a firefighting vehicle close by and easily deployed, and capable of throwing a large quantity of water an appreciable distance into areas adjacent to the ranges, should a fire occur. 

A Stryker unit, or an upgraded firefighting unit, be present at the range sentry point, remain manned and ready to deploy during range activites, with its driver in direct radio contact with the Range Safety Officer. Upon the range being declared clear by the Safety Officer inspecting the range after a demolition serial, the firefighting unit must proceed forward to the range wile the periphery of the range continues to be inspected by the Safety Officer, and remain on the range until the Safety officer declares that the area is clear of fire or that it is otherwise appropriate for the fireghting unit to leave the range area. 

State and territory governments, local governments and insurers should explore opportunities for collaboration and partnerships. Partnerships, for example, could be formed through the Insurance Council of Australia and state-based local government associations (or regional organisations of councils). Consideration could be given to the Trusted Information Sharing Network model. Partnerships could involve:
• governments sharing natural hazard data that they already hold and undertaking land use planning and mitigation to reduce risk exposure and vulnerability
• insurers sharing expertise and information (for example, claims data) to inform land use planning and mitigation decisions
• collaboration to inform households of the risks that they face and to encourage private funding of mitigation through incentives such as reduced premiums.

Governments at all levels should make new and currently held natural hazard data publicly available in accordance with open public sector information principles. When collecting new natural hazard data or undertaking modelling, all levels of government should:
• make information publicly available unless it would not be in the public interest to do so
• use private-sector providers where cost effective, and use licencing arrangements that allow for public dissemination. Where there are costs involved in obtaining intellectual property rights for existing data, governments should weigh up these costs against the public benefits of making the data freely accessible
• apply cost recovery where governments are best placed to collect or analyse specialist data for which the benefits accrue mostly to private sector users.

Insurers should provide additional standardised information to households regarding their insurance policies, the natural hazards they face and indicative costs of rebuilding after a natural disaster. This work should be led by the Insurance Council of Australia developing guidelines, within one year, to ensure consistency in the provision and presentation of this information across insurers.

Governments should task the Australia–New Zealand Emergency Management Committee with leading the development of guidelines for the collection and dissemination of natural hazard mapping, modelling and metadata. Guidelines should be developed for all hazards that need to be modelled and mapped at the local/regional level and where consistency across regions is desirable.

The National Health and Medical Research Council, in conjunction with key stakeholders, work collaboratively to provide more support for initiatives to increase international infectious disease research collaborations and build research capacity, particularly with neighbouring countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The committee notes the linkage between climate change and extreme weather events and recommends that the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO conduct further research to increase understanding in the areas of:
• the interaction between large-scale natural variations, climate change and extreme weather events;
• the impacts of climate change on rainfall patterns and tropical cyclones; and
• that Australia cooperatively engage, where appropriate, with international research initiatives in these areas.

The committee recommends that the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO continue to improve projections and forecasts of extreme weather events at a more local level.

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth government, through the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, continues to support data collection and research to improve forecasting of extreme weather events, especially early warning capabilities.

Increased automation and outsourcing of observations

Extend ICT governance arrangements to all applications and subject in-house development to rigorous approval processes.

Governments should not subsidise household or business property insurance, whether directly or by underwriting risks.

The Australian Government should only proceed with reforms that require all household insurers to offer flood cover if it can be demonstrated that the benefits to the wider community would exceed the costs.

That all home insurance, home contents and home unit insurance policies include flood cover.

That flood premium discounts not be provided to small businesses and that the reinsurance facility not offer reinsurance for small businesses.

That lending institutions remind mortgagors annually of their obligations to hold home insurance and of the risks of under-insurance in order to minimise non-insurance and under-insurance of homes.

That the Government give priority to introducing legislation necessary to ensure that all home, contents and home unit insurance policies include flood cover and to establish a new national agency for flood risk management and flood reinsurance purposes.

That whenever flood cover is included in home building insurance policies:
• flood-specific sub-limits not apply; and
• any excess that applies to flood cover be commensurate with that applicable to other insured perils.

That for home contents insurance policies, policyholders pay for that portion of the risk retained by the insurer and pay nothing for the remainder of the risk up to $100,000. For contents with a value greater than $100,000 policyholders then pay the full cost of the portion of risk exceeding $100,000.

That the Commonwealth Government introduce a standard definition of flood in the form proposed in the ‘Reforming flood insurance: Clearing the waters’ consultation paper.

That all home unit insurance policies include flood cover, in the same manner as for homes.

That to facilitate flood risk information being made publicly available, Commonwealth, State and Territory governments grant indemnities to the providers of flood risk information if the information is obtained and provided in good faith and in the absence of any gross negligence.

That the Insurance Council of Australia amend clause 4.5 of the General Insurance Code of Practice to extend the time within which claimants in natural disasters have the right to make further claims or lodge reviews after the finalisation of an initial claim to seven months from the date of the relevant natural disaster, regardless of when the initial claim was finalised.

That all insurers offering small business insurance be obliged to include flood cover on an opt-out basis, instead of an opt-in/opt-out basis as at present, in all of their small business package policies.

That access to insurance be enhanced through the development of alternative payment options, in particular:
• by the Commonwealth Government arranging for Centrelink customers to be able to pay insurance premiums fortnightly through Centrepay; and
• by State, Territory and/or local governments and community housing organisations arranging insurance premiums for contents to be able to be incorporated into rent for social and community housing tenants.

That the current formula for the cost of rebuilding of State and Territory assets under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements be changed to expenditure before any insurance recoveries by the State or Territory rather than net of any insurance recoveries.

That home building and home contents insurance should not be made compulsory.

That for body corporate insurance policies receiving full discounts, policyholders pay for that portion of the risk retained by the insurer and pay nothing for the remainder of the risk up to $500,000 times the number of units. For properties with a value greater than $500,000 times the number of units policyholders then pay the full cost of the portion of risk exceeding $500,000 times the number of units.

That a ‘health warning’ be provided by insurers to the purchasers of home and contents policies that do not include full flood cover or full replacement cover. The health warning should be provided:
• in the Key Facts Statement;
• verbally at the time of telephone purchase; and
• in writing on internet quotation software for all online purchases.

That there be limitations on the size of the discount available to high-value homes.

That the Commonwealth seek reimbursement of some portion of the shortfall from the State or Territory government in whose jurisdiction the flood occurred.

That the Insurance Council of Australia repeal clauses 4.3 and 4.4 of the General Insurance Code of Practice, so that claims arising from natural disasters are subject to the same minimum standards as other claims — including the four month time limit for a determination on liability and the nature of the loss/damage with respect to the claim.

That discounts be provided, in the same manner as for homes, to home contents insurance policies for eligible properties.

That the Commonwealth engage with the insurance industry and the States and Territories in planning for the future coordination of charitable and government payments to individuals to assist with recovery after future natural disasters.

That the Commonwealth and State governments provide funding for legal advice and assistance with insurance disputes following natural disasters.

That all home building insurance policies include flood cover.

That for home building insurance policies receiving full discounts, policyholders pay for that portion of the risk retained by the insurer and pay nothing for the remainder of the risk up to $500,000. For properties with a value greater than $500,000 policyholders then pay the full cost of the portion of risk exceeding $500,000.

That, in endorsing the Government proposal for a Key Facts Statement, the Key Facts Statement list replacement cover and all natural disaster events, identified as ‘standard cover’ in the Insurance Contracts Regulations 1985. That insurers issue a Key Facts Statement to policy holders with all new policies written and all policy renewals on an annual basis.

The levels of the discounts and the phasing out periods be reviewed from time to time.

That the Commonwealth Government guarantee payment of claims from the reinsurance pool by ensuring that, whenever a funding shortfall occurs in the pool through claims exceeding the funds held in the pool, the Commonwealth would meet the shortfall.

That the Insurance Council of Australia amend the Code of Practice to impose a four month time limit (subject to exceptional circumstances) to make a determination as to liability and the nature of the loss or damage with respect to a claim. That, should a claimant not receive a determination within the four month period, the claim be automatically escalated to an internal dispute resolution complaint and the insurer notify the Code Compliance Committee of the breach of the Code.

That all home contents insurance policies include flood cover.

That all home, contents and home unit insurance policies cover the policyholder for storm surge, tsunami and landslide, where the storm surge, tsunami or landslide is the result of another event that is covered under the policy and regardless of whether the insured property directly suffers damage from the underlying insured event.
     • This includes storm surge associated with a cyclone that does not cross the coastline.

That ASIC conduct a review of the General Insurance Code of Practice three years after the amendments recommended to the Code in this Review are implemented, in order to assess the effectiveness of the Code with a view to determining whether an ASIC Regulatory Guide for claims handling should then be introduced.

The Commonwealth Government guarantee the payment of claims by ensuring that, whenever a funding shortfall occurs in the reinsurance facility through claims exceeding the funds held in the facility, the Commonwealth would meet the shortfall and the Commonwealth would seek reimbursement of a portion of the shortfall from the State or Territory government in whose jurisdiction the flood occurred.

That flood premium discounts be delivered through a model that requires insurers to retain and price a portion of the risk with the remainder to be ceded to the reinsurance facility at a discounted reinsurance premium.

That subsection 35(2) of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 be amended so that policyholders are not deemed to be clearly informed of a deviation from ‘standard cover’ by simply being provided a copy of the insurance policy or product disclosure statement.

That flood premium discounts be provided for home building insurance for eligible homes:
• the discounts be assessed by reference to an ‘affordability threshold’ for flood premiums;
• only existing homes would be eligible for discounts; and
• discounts would be phased out gradually over time.

That a flood risk reinsurance facility, or reinsurance pool, be established which would have two primary functions:
• to deliver discounts to home, contents and home unit insurance policies for eligible properties; and
• to provide flood reinsurance capacity to the insurance market;
and two key design features:
• an excess of loss arrangement whereby insurers retain and price a ‘first loss’ portion of each policy on a commercial basis; and
• a ‘facultative/obligatory’ reinsurance treaty that would allow insurers to cede individual properties to the pool if they wish (facultative offer) but the pool would be obliged to accept them (obligatory acceptance).

That every APRA-authorised general insurer adopt and comply with the General Insurance Code of Practice.

That the definition of a home for the purposes of flood cover and flood premium discounts be any building for which a homeowner purchases a home insurance policy.
• This definition ensures that the Review Panel’s recommendations would apply to all ‘nonstandard’ types of homes such as manufactured homes and mobile homes insured under a home buildings insurance policy.

That:
• the Agency offer cover to insurers for cyclone risk, on the same basis as for flood risk, but with no affordability discounts (in the expectation that, when the Agency does its own pricing, it will offer a fair price to home and home unit owners. This price may be lower but is not guaranteed to be lower than the prices of commercial insurers); and
• an investigation be undertaken to ascertain whether there is a basis for granting affordability discounts for cyclone risk, along the lines of the recommended flood insurance discounts, for homes and home units in northern Australia.

That the Insurance Council of Australia amend the General Insurance Code of Practice such that the General Insurance Code Compliance Committee:
• be appointed in the same manner as FOS Panels, with the independent chair and the consumer and industry representatives to be appointed in the same manner as the ombudsman and panel members are appointed under the FOS rules;
• have the authority and resources to record all breaches of the Code reported to it, toinvestigate breaches of the Code where appropriate and to conduct regular audits of insurance companies for compliance with the Code;
• report serious or systemic breaches of the Code directly to ASIC; and
• publicly release annual reports as to Code compliance and breaches, with insurers to be identified in the reports.

That a system of premium discounts be introduced in order that most purchasers of home insurance, home contents and home unit insurance policies in areas subject to flood risk be eligible for discounts against the full cost of flood insurance.

That the questions of flood cover as standard in small business policies and access to discounted premiums for small business policyholders should be revisited once the recommended arrangements for homes, home units and home contents are in place.

That all home building insurance policies providing sum insured cover be modified by the end of 2014 so as to include replacement value cover in the event of total loss of the home. That during the transition period insurers consider how the design features of home building replacement value policies should respond following a natural disaster, including the conditions under which cash settlements are to be offered and finalised.

That the following five principles underpin the design of a system of premium discounts:
• premiums should rise with the level of flood risk;
• those whose homes do not face a flood risk should not pay a flood premium;
• there should be no cross subsidisation of premiums between policyholders;
• there should be some limitations on discounts to high-value homes; and
• the discount mechanism should be simple for policyholders and automated for insurers.

That homes at high and extreme risk of flood be provided with discounts initially and that they be assessed regularly for mitigation work already undertaken and the potential for further mitigation.

That, in order to give general insurance policyholders the same legal remedies as other consumers, unfair contract terms laws be applied to general insurance.

That flood premium discounts be provided, in the same manner as for homes, to the bodies corporate of eligible properties, and on the same basis as for detached homes.

That the Agency charge insurers a small administrative fee for each policy ceded to the reinsurance facility. 

That the Insurance Council of Australia amend the General Insurance Code of Practice to require that:
• internal dispute resolution processes be independent of the claims handling department and the internal dispute resolution officers have the authority to overturn the original decisions and to accept claims;
• internal dispute resolution complaints be finalised within an aggregate of 45 days and if this time limit is not met, the insurer to advise the claimant of his or her right to lodge an external dispute resolution complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service (if applicable) and to seek independent legal advice;
• time limits on internal dispute resolution complaints commence immediately after a policyholder notifies the insurer of a complaint, whether verbally or in writing; and
• a general fairness test be applied to claims and complaints handling.

The committee further recommends that any allocation of broadband spectrum to emergency service organisations (ESOs) for PPDR must be provided on the basis of interoperability amongst Australian ESOs and with ESO counterparts overseas.

The committee recommends the Commonwealth Government allocate sufficient spectrum for dedicated broadband public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) radiocommunications in Australia.

The committee recommends that interoperability of narrowband voice radiocommunications between federal, state and territory emergency service organisations is achieved as soon as practicable and that all services attending major incidents be compelled to maintain a common emergency communications platform to ensure seamless real time communication from and to the Incident Controller.

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government consult with state and territory governments to ensure that the states' and territories' captive insurance and reinsurance arrangements are reported transparently and on a comparable basis. 

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Treasury clarify what is meant by the term 'cost-effective' as it relates to the 2011 NDRRA Determination and the scrutiny of the states' and territories' insurance arrangements. 

The committee recommends that a particular focus of the Natural Disasters Insurance Review into the adequacy of current insurance arrangements should be on whether the international insurance market offers reinsurance for the states' and territories' road networks.

Consideration should be given to ways to ensure that contractors who are involved in barrier installation (such as cementing companies) have a direct interest in the performance of works to a proper standard. In particular, consideration should be given to (i) preventing contractors from avoiding the economic consequences of negligent installation of barriers; and/or (ii) imposing specific legislative standards of workmanship on contractors with respect to well control (similar to those which presently apply to licensees).

It is recommended that industry, regulators, and training/research institutions liaise with one another with a view to developing better techniques for testing and verifying the integrity of cemented casing shoes as barriers (particularly in atypical situations such as where the casing shoe is located within a reservoir in a horizontal or high angle position at great depth).

The obligation of companies involved in an incident to meet the full costs of monitoring and remediation should be made a condition of approval of proposals under the EPBC Act and OPGGS Act. Suitable arrangements (insurance or otherwise) need to be in place to ensure that companies have this capacity.

The National Plan should specify that the cost of responding to an oil spill, or other damage to the offshore marine environment, will be totally met by the owner/operator. This would be consistent with the Inquiry’s recommendation for legislative changes to the regulatory framework concerning owner/operators meeting the cost of monitoring and remediation of environmental damage.

Logistics management of well control equipment should be conducted in such a way as to operate as a check against deficient well control practices, for example, use of serial numbers to track availability, testing, and deployment of well control equipment.

At the conclusion of the current Bushfire CRC funding agreement the Commonwealth establish a new permanent bushfire research institute.

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth co-ordinate a national approach to the pooling of ground fire fighting resources across agencies and jurisdictions to maximise the efficiency of their use.

The Productivity Commission be tasked to assess the economic effects of recent major bushfires on the Australian economy to determine the cost effectiveness of prescribed burning as a mitigation strategy.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a coastal zone research network within the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and that it complete a coastal zone research plan.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government request the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the projected impacts of climate change and related insurance matters, with a particular focus on:
- insurance coverage of coastal properties, given the concentration of Australia’s population and infrastructure along the coast
- estimates of the value of properties potentially exposed to this risk
- insurance affordability, availability and uptake
- existing and emerging gaps in insurance coverage, with a particular focus on coverage of coastal risks such as storm surge/inundation, landslip/erosion and sea level rise (including the combined effects of sea inundation and riverine flooding)
- the need for a clear definition of the circumstances under which an insurance claim is payable due to storm surge/inundation, landslip/erosion and sea level rise, as well as due to permanent submersion of some or all of the land
- the possibility of a government instrument that prohibits continued occupation of the land or future building development on the property due to sea hazard
- gaps in the information needed to properly assess insurance risk and availability of nationally consistent data on climate change risks
- examining the key actions for governments proposed by the Insurance Council of Australia and the Insurance Australia Group in their submissions to this inquiry
- possible responses to a withdrawal of insurance for certain risks or regions, noting the increased burden this could place on government and taxpayers

The Committee recommends that the Department of Climate Change share all data collected through vulnerability assessments undertaken as part of the Australian Government Local Adaptation Pathways Program on the proposed National Coastal Zone Database (see also recommendation 42).

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government give the five recommendations calling for information, studies and data, as proposed by the Torres Strait Regional Authority, early and urgent consideration with a view to their implementation.

The Committee recommends that the National Coastal Zone Database be expanded over time to include information on environmental data and management and planning information relevant to the coastal zone.

The Committee recommends that the Department of Climate Change continue to fund research to:
- establish the wave climate around the coast so as to identify those locations most at risk from wave erosion
- examine how the wave climate nationally interacts with varying landform types

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government take urgent action to protect Australians from the threats of dengue fever and chikungunya virus. The knowledge gaps identified by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility research plan with regards to the relationship between climate variation and vector-borne disease should be urgently addressed. The Australian Government should:
- undertake research into the relationship between climate change and vector-borne disease
- produce modelling to allow for advanced early warning of impending threats from vector-borne disease
- continue to work towards producing a structured national framework for dealing with mosquito outbreaks in Australia
- increase biosecurity measures to better protect against chikungunya virus entering Australia

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government urgently commission further research on socioeconomic vulnerability to climate change impacts, particularly in coastal communities.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government increase its investment in coastal based climate change research on:
- sea level rise projections and the dynamics of polar ice sheets, particularly in the Antarctic
- extreme sea level events, including as a result of storm surge and tropical cyclones
- regional variations in sea level rise
- ocean acidification, particularly impacts on Australia’s coral reefs, higher ocean temperatures and changing ocean currents

The Committee recommends that, following the completion of the ‘first pass’ National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment, the Australian Government consider the resourcing and financing of second and third pass assessments, in conjunction with state, territory and local government authorities.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government, through the Australian Bureau of Statistics, ensure that:
- accurate and consistent methods of measuring the numbers and the impact of tourists and other non-residents in coastal areas are undertaken to enable resources to be better matched with demand for infrastructure and services
- improved data on long-term demographic trends in coastal areas is made available to assist in coastal zone planning and management

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government commission a study on international coastal zone governance arrangements, policies and programs for addressing coastal climate change impacts, and adaptation strategies. The completed study should be made public.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a National Coastal Zone Database to improve access to and consistency of information relevant to coastal zone adaptation. The National Coastal Zone Database should be an online portal that allows ready access to:
- ‘first pass’ National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment data
- state and local Digital Elevation Modelling
- National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility reports
- federal Local Adaptation Pathways Program reports
- state and local coastal vulnerability assessment results

Noting the gap in research on legal issues and climate change impacts on the coastal zone, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government request that the Australian Law Reform Commission undertake an urgent inquiry into this area, with particular focus on:
- clarification of liability issues with regard to public authorities acting or not acting in terms of climate change adaptation and possible coastal hazards (eg legal basis to implement adaptation strategies of protect, redesign, rebuild, elevate, relocate and retreat)
- clarification of liability issues with regard to private property holders acting to protect their properties from the impacts of climate change
- legal issues associated with the impacts of climate change on existing developments, as opposed to planned new developments
- mechanisms to ensure mandatory risk disclosure to the public about climate change risks and coastal hazards (eg legislation harmonised across all states requiring mandatory disclosure of all known and predicted risk data by state and local governments to property purchasers during property conveyance and title search processes)
- whether there should be broader indemnification of local government authorities

Establish a Regional Centre of Excellence for Tsunamis to focus Australian and international science/research and collaboration on the challenge of understanding tsunamis and mitigating their consequences.

The Working Group recommends that the National Recovery Coordinators Group approach the Investment and Financial Services Association Limited, with a view to identifying the most appropriate way of engaging the life insurance industry in the recovery process.

The Working Group recommends support for ongoing research into natural hazard risks and an improved understanding of emergency management capability.
The research program should include:
• The development of an improved national picture of local risks to more clearly identify communities and regions at severe risk. Where possible, this activity should draw on existing complementary programs such as the Disaster Mitigation Australia Package being facilitated by DOTARS.
• The development of scenarios for a wider range of hazards and probabilities in which casualty and infrastructure damage consequences are predicted, and the development of standardised capability measures for emergency response and recovery, to allow assessments of adequacy.
• The development of cost/benefit methodologies for evaluation of projected capability enhancement, alsoallowing comparison with alternative strategies, e.g., mitigation.
• The longer term development of consequence prediction tools for tactical use by emergency managers to obtain assessments of impact to guide initial resource deployment. 

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish, as part of its program to implement a single fuel classification system, standards which take into account local conditions including topography and vegetation type, for determining appropriate dimensions for asset protection zones.

The Committee recommends that (under Programs C and E) the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre considers the following items as part of a national education program.
- Introducing bushfire skills training to schools and libraries.
- Training various categories of emergency services personnel on their specific role in the event of a bushfire.
- Ensuring that those in the fields of building, engineering, urban planning, forestry and science have a clear understanding of bushfire risk management including current related regulatory codes and legislation.
- Counselling prospective land developers in bushfire prone areas on the risks and necessary protective planning.
- Running adult education courses on protective planning (including insurance, building design and maintenance and defence techniques) in the context of bushfires.
- Broadcasting protective planning issues through the media, television, Internet, radio and publications.
- Structuring the community into groups and providing them with guidelines for launching an initial attack on a bushfire.
- Enclosing brochures about bushfire protection with rates notices.
- Having a Bushfire Awareness and Preparedness Day (similar to Clean Up Australia Day) where the community is encouraged to undertake risk reduction with local governments coordinating the disposal of hazardous material.

The Committee acknowledges community concerns about smoke pollution as a result of prescribed burning and recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre pursue its proposed study into smoke modelling.

The Committee recommends that Geoscience Australia take responsibility, in conjunction with Emergency Management Australia, for developing a national spatial data policy to coordinate the development of data systems, the collection of data and the sharing of data between all the emergency response agencies across Australia, and that both agencies participate in the development and delivery of spatial information
systems as part of a national approach to emergency planning and management data. The first priority in policy development and of systems should be related to bushfire hazards.

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish, as part of its program to implement a single fuel classification system, a national database that provides information on current levels and rates of accumulation of fuel loads that takes into account vegetation type and climate across all tenures of land, including private land where data is available.

The Committee recommends that Program D of the Commonwealth Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre examines the (pending) outcome of the ABCB’s review of the existing Building Code of Australia bushfire
provisions (including Standard AS3959–1999) to determine their adequacy and the ways in which compliance can be better managed. This should include extending its scope to cover existing buildings and those
that are not in areas declared as bushfire prone, yet still on the urbanrural interface and therefore, potentially at risk.

The Committee recommends that, as part of its study into improving the effectiveness of prescribed burning, the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish a national database that includes areas targeted for fuel reduction, the area of fuel reduction achieved based on a specified standard of on ground verification and the season in which the reduction was achieved. The Committee also recommends that in developing this database the Cooperative Research Centre develop a national standard of fire mapping, which accurately maps the extent, intensity, spread and overall pattern of prescribed and wildfires in Australia.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government work with Australasian Fire Authorities Council to review the insurance cover provided to volunteer fire fighters in all states and territories and ensure that cover is adequate for loss of life or injury and related loss of income and property lost in the line of duty.

The Committee recommends that insurance companies ensure that potential and existing policyholders are aware of the need to regularly review their insurance policies to prevent undervaluing. This could be done through renewal notices and quarterly reminders. This should include a list of bushfire risk reduction measures that policyholders can implement to decrease the cost of their premium.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments initiate consideration of the relaxation of restrictions on the movement of fire fighting equipment
during declared emergencies.

The Committee recommends that Program E of the Bushfire Cooperative Centre, which is tasked with the development of the next generation of fire researchers and dissemination of the Centre’s work, be tasked further to collect and respond to feedback, particularly from the on ground volunteer levels of fire brigades, on the practicality of its outputs and their future requirements.

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre conduct further research on the impact of weeds on the flammability of land and the most economically and environmentally appropriate way to remove weeds after fire events.

The Committee recommends that taxes on insurance premiums be calculated only on the premium in order to eliminate the current cascading cost.

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish a minimum national standard that is common across all tenures of land for water access and availability for bushfire fighting.

Further to recommendation 21 in Chapter 4, the Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the proposed Council of Australian Governments review of the bushfire management, initiate
with the states and territories, as a priority, a review of the duty of care of public and private landowners and their potential liability. This should be done with a view to developing clear and consistent principles that
cover (but are not limited to) the following:
- Timely replacement/ repair of loss/damage (including to fences) resulting from fire fighting operations, suppression activities or wildfires.
- The liability of councils that imprudently approve the sale of land.
- The responsibilities and potential liabilities of fire controllers with a view to developing principles of indemnification for reasonable, responsible and informed decision making (including occupational health and safety).

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre conduct further research into the long term effects and effectiveness of grazing as a fire mitigation practice.

The Committee recommends that the 1:100,000 national mapping program be accelerated to achieve an average life of no greater than 10 years with priority given to those areas most susceptible to national disasters.

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre determine a minimum national standard, taking into account topography and vegetation type, for adequate access to all public lands
including wilderness areas of national parks for the purpose of effective fire prevention and suppression.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre’s research and recommend property protection products and programs under Program D.

The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre monitor the effect of grazing on mitigating the return of woody weeds to recently fire effected areas across various landscapes including
alpine and subalpine.

The Committee recommends that Emergency Management Australia be required to participate in the development and delivery of spatial information systems as part of a national approach to emergency planning and management data. The first priority in policy development and of systems should be related to bushfire hazards.