A new funding program from the Queensland Government will help lower the cost of insurance for councils in high risk, cyclone-prone coastal areas.

The government has made $10 million available to help eligible councils in northern Queensland to reduce their disaster risk and lower the cost of insurance for local residents.

The funding is available to 33 councils and Weipa Town Authority with population centres within 50 kilometres of the coastline, from Bundaberg all the way up to the Northern Territory border.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said expressions of interest in the North Queensland Natural Disasters Mitigation Program are now open.

“We know that Queensland is the most disaster-impacted state in Australia, with close to 90 natural disasters experienced over the past decade,” he said in a statement.

“We also know that communities in North and Far North Queensland often bear the brunt of these events, which has led to ever increasing insurance premiums.”

“We know that Queensland is the most disaster-impacted state in Australia.” – Deputy Premier Steven Miles

A recent Australian Consumer and Competition Commission report into the issue revealed that between 2007 and 2019, average premiums for home and contents insurance increased by 127 per cent in North Queensland, compared with 71 per cent for the rest of Australia.

Mr Miles said the ACCC report found that disaster risk mitigation initiatives, both at the household and community level, could help lower the cost of insurance premiums.

“The funding is an opportunity to reduce the impacts of natural disasters in the north while also helping to make insurance more affordable,” he said.

“That’s why I’m encouraging all eligible councils to identify disaster risk mitigation activities that can be funded or partly funded through the program,” he said.

The North Queensland Natural Disasters Mitigation Program is being delivered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. Eligible councils can apply here.