The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has announced its support of the Tradies in Paradise Incentive Scheme, an initiative to provide financial assistance to tradespeople who relocate from other states to take part in rehabilitation efforts following the recent flooding in Queensland.
Through this scheme, the Queensland Government will be offering one-off payments of up to $1,750 to qualified tradespeople and building industry professionals who take up flood reconstruction work in impacted areas.
Recovery from the floods remains at a slow place due to the limited number of available tradies in the state. The scheme is expected to address the current trade labour shortage in Queensland and hasten community recovery by offering financial incentives to 1,000 interstate tradespeople and builders.
“The Insurance Council welcomes the Tradies in Paradise Incentive Scheme, as a critical shortage of builders and trades continues to pose a challenge for insurers in repairing homes and businesses in regions impacted by the floods,” said Andrew Hall, ICA CEO. “We know the building industry has been facing a shortage of trades for some time, partly due to a strong home construction market, but also from impacts of Queensland’s licensing requirements.”
The ICA also welcomed the Queensland Government’s decision to exclude from the scheme tradespeople from New South Wales, considering the amount of post-flood reconstruction that is also required in that area.
As of April 13, insurers have received over 97,000 claims related to the Queensland floods, costing an estimated $1.4 billion, according to ICA figures.
“Since late last year, the ICA has been working with state and territory government and building industry associations to increase the availability of trades required to repair and rebuild properties following natural disasters and investigate the feasibility of bringing in qualified trades from overseas,” Hall added. “Insurers are committed to working with customers as their homes and businesses are repaired, and hopefully this initiative will help national mobility to occur again so help can be deployed where it is needed.”
