“We know this repeated,relentless flooding can be emotionally and financially draining,and we want communities to know we will be there to support them now,and as they recover.”

Eligible home owners will be offered one of the three available measures,based on expert property assessments;flood impact severity data,safety risks,and potential future flood levels.

The NSW government will also spend $100 million to acquire land and open up new flood safe locations for future development,in partnership with the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation.

The corporation is currently conducting an expression of interest process to identify suitable parcels of land,which would allow residents to rebuild but remain in their community.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the program would help Northern Rivers’ residents take the next steps on the road towards recovery while also boosting community resilience.

“I saw first-hand the devastation extreme flooding caused across the Northern Rivers and I hope this program provides relief for so many residents who have suffered for too long,” Perrottet said.

“We are stepping up to provide options for residents to move out of harm’s way and protect themselves and their families but we cannot continue to build back as we have in the past.

“We will work with the Northern Rivers community to ensure repairs,retrofitting and voluntary buy-backs are undertaken in a way that ... better protects people and their homes from future flood events.”

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said both governments would continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the region on the long road to recovery.

The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation,the agency tasked with reviving the flood-ravaged communities in northern NSW,gave advice to the inquiry that the government faces a recovery bill of $3 billion,on top of what it has already spent.

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