Tuesday, 14 October 2025

 Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (13:14): On behalf of all those in my electorate who are facing large increases in their home insurance bills, I recently wrote to the Insurance Council of Australia asking them to give consideration to lowering insurance premiums for people who undertake flood mitigation works to protect their property. Part of the response from the insurance council said:

This underscores the urgent need for the Victorian Government to finally establish a household resilience program, similar to the proven initiatives already delivering results in NSW and Queensland.

Your constituents shouldn’t have to wait any longer for what other Australians already have access to. The contrast is stark: while other states are getting on with the job of protecting their communities, Victorian families in flood-prone areas like Echuca are left to fend for themselves. This is both unfair and unsustainable.

More broadly, I can advise that the Resilient Building Council is currently developing a multi-hazard rating tool which will assist households know what sort of resilience measures are best suited to their homes, and how these can reduce risk. This information will assist insurers better understand how risk mitigation measures may able to be taken into account in setting premiums.

I would ask the government to help Victorians who face higher home insurance premiums to help themselves by actually setting up a household resilience program here in Victoria.