Queensland councils are vowing to fight planned Federal Government changes to Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), which they say will endanger community safety while imposing crushing financial burdens on cash-strapped councils.
Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) President Mayor Matt Burnett says the proposed changes couldn’t come at a worse time, when councils and communities are already dealing with the challenges of high inflation, surging fuel prices, cost shifting and a Federal Budget that sent untied funding for councils backwards.
“Queensland cannot afford changes to the current DRFA arrangements that will result in a reduction to existing funding,” Mayor Burnett said.
“Despite the Federal Government’s wording, this is not a fair or a sustainable outcome for Queensland – our communities will be more worse off.”
LGAQ CEO Alison Smith said the proposed changes were unacceptable and urged the Federal Government to reverse course immediately.
“This is a real sucker punch to Queensland after the 2026 summer season where 74 of 77 LGAs were disaster impacted, with two cyclones and monsoonal flooding which lasted for five months across much of the state,” she said.
“The Federal Budget has already robbed councils of crucial resources, with untied local government funding slipping to less than half a per cent of overall tax revenue.
“These disaster recovery changes will hurt Queensland communities and rob them of their ability to recover quickly.
“Mother Nature can be unpredictable, so what we need from the Federal Government is disaster funding support that is reliable, provides certainty and ensures the most disaster-impacted areas in Australia will not be worse off. The current DRFA arrangements are working well.”
The list of changes as announced by Minister Kristy McBain can be found here.