A week after the NSW government established a new organization to streamline the long-term reconstruction of flood-hit communities in North Rivers, it is set to revise interstate building and construction licensing to make it easier for tradespeople to work across borders.
The Automatic Mutual Recognition Scheme will enable qualified tradespeople from anywhere else but Queensland to participate in community rebuilding in the most flood-impacted areas. Backed by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the move will expedite the urgent repair processes that policyholders have long waited for.
Andrew Hall, chief executive officer of the ICA, acknowledged the lack of builders and trades across impacted regions that keeps communities from recovering on track.
“Mutual licensing recognition of builders and tradespeople between states and territories will go a long way to addressing this shortage and support faster community recovery from disaster,” Hall said. “This decision by the NSW Government is very welcomed, especially if it means labour can be better mobilised across borders and help communities rebuild faster.”
So far, the recent floods have recorded over 81,700 claims in NSW, with losses estimated at $1.145 billion. Of the count, more than 63,500 claims are for property and more than 14,000 are for motor vehicles.
Beyond the city capital, insurers have received a total of 180,245 claims from the extreme weather event across South East Queensland and Northern NSW, at an estimated cost of $2.523 billion.
