FMA Flyer 7 July

Published: Fri, 08/01/25

Updated: Fri, 08/01/25

FLYER ISSUE 7: JULY 2025

READ IN BROWSER

NEXT FMA MEETING:

QLD CHAPTER - WEDNESDAY 6 AUGUST IN BRISBANE

NSW/ACT CHAPTER - THURSDAY 14 AUGUST IN SYDNEY

Welcome to the July edition of the Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) Monthly Flyer.

The FMA August Quarterly Meetings in Brisbane and Sydney are only a week or two away. If you haven’t attended an FMA Quarterly Meeting before or it’s been a while since you attended, I would like to give you a bit more detail about our Quarterly Meetings and why they really are a worthwhile event to include in your busy work schedules.

First of all, the meetings are free and everyone with an interest in flood risk management is welcome to attend. You don’t have to be an FMA Member to attend … but we certainly hope you will consider becoming a Member after you attend one of our meetings. In-person attendance is recommended to gain the most benefit from the event - plus a complementary networking lunch and afternoon tea are provided. If you are unable to attend in person the meeting may be viewed live online via the Teams platform.

FMA Quarterly Meetings are an excellent opportunity for flood professionals and decision makers to stay informed of current flood risk management developments and challenges, and to network with flood colleagues from councils, government agencies, consultants, insurers and product providers.

We all know that there are multiple agencies and jurisdictions managing different components across the flood risk management industry. Where else but the FMA Quarterly Meeting can you hear from a range of government agencies about contemporary issues in flood risk management, flood forecasting and flood warning and emergency management, all in the same place at the same time.

An important component of FMA Quarterly Meetings is our afternoon Workshops. The 1.5 hour Workshops focus on contemporary and locally relevant topics of interest to a wide range of flood risk management practitioners. The Workshops include presentations from subject matter experts and often involve a panel discussion, with plenty of time for a question and answer session. Some Workshop topics over the past year have included:

New Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) Guidelines on Climate Change Considerations
Flood insurance and review of FMA/ICA Flood Insurance Fact Sheets
Bundaberg Levee update, Life Safety Modelling for Tinaroo Dam in Far North Queensland and Flood Evacuation management for Bundaberg
NSW Shelter in Place Guideline for flash flooding: Should I stay or should I go?
Making Queensland more resilient following the 2022 flood event, and the next steps (Brisbane) — with speakers from the Resilient Building Council and Queensland Government Resilient Homes Fund.

FMA Quarterly Meetings and Workshops also provide a valuable contribution to your own continuing professional development and training requirements.

So please make sure you join us for one of the FMA August Quarterly Meetings. The Agenda and Business Papers will be available from the FMA website: https://www.floods.asn.au/.

Here are the details:

Queensland FMA Quarterly Meeting

To ensure we have space for you and to assist with catering, please register at fma-augustqld.eventbrite.com.au

Date and time: Wednesday 6 August from 12:00pm to 4:45pm
Location: AECOM offices. Level 8, 540 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
Workshop topic: ‘What happens when the worlds of planners and engineers collide? A Queensland perspective…’ — the Workshop will inform, educate and update FMA Members to the pains, gains and constraints of managing the floodplain in Queensland from a planning perspective.
5:00pm Networking Function: meet with Young Floodplain Managers over networking drinks at a local venue.

NSW/ACT FMA Quarterly Meeting

To ensure we have space for you and to assist with catering, please register at fma-augustnsw.eventbrite.com.au

Date and time: Thursday 14 August from 10:00am to 3:45pm
Location: Mercure Hotel. 818-820 George Street Sydney (near Sydney Central Station)
Workshop Topics:
- Part 1: Access for Maintenance to Creeks, Stormwater Assets and Flood Mitigation Assets on Private Land — Legal Issues and Practicalities
- Part 2: Analysing the Broader Risks of Publicising Flood Information — A Council Case Study
- Part 3: Draft FMA Fact Sheet on Overland Flow — Update
3:30pm Networking Function: after meeting drinks at the Platform 818 Bar in the Mercure Hotel.

I look forward to seeing you at one of our August Quarterly Meetings. We love seeing new faces and meeting new people. Please make sure you come up and say hello.

Sue Ribbons

FMA President

FMA NATIONAL CONFERENCE PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Pictured: Patrick Paynter (ACT Government) presenting at the FMA National Conference in Melbourne.

2025 Conference Papers and Presentations are still being added to the Members' Section of floods.asn.au. Access to 2025 Conference content is an FMA Member exclusive, so if you are not yet an FMA Member, visit floods.asn.au/membership for information on how to join.

Please contact Dominique Evans projectservices@floods.asn.au if you are having trouble logging in to the Members' Section, or if you need to register for Access.

A reminder to presenters and authors – your presentation material is a valuable resource much sought after by colleagues, so if you haven’t yet provided your paper and presentation please do so as soon as possible. As an alternative to a Full Paper, a one page Extended Abstract would be appreciated.

CSIRO MODEL OF RICHMOND RIVER RELEASED

A hydrodynamic model and report for the Richmond River catchment have now been finalised and made publicly available. Following the major flooding in the NSW Northern Rivers region in 2022 the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) engaged the CSIRO to analyse the flood event and investigate ways of mitigating future flood events.

The project involved collecting data from the entire Northern Rivers area of approximately 30,000 square kilometres to underpin hydrological and hydrodynamic modelling. Outputs from the modelling are intended to be used to identify areas susceptible to flooding and estimate changes in inundation under future interventions and climate change scenarios.

The model will support the next step in this project, which involves the identification and assessment of a range of potential flood mitigation options in the Richmond River catchment.

Community consultation forums have been scheduled for 31 July - 8 August 2025 to enable community members living in the Richmond River catchment to hear from CSIRO about the model and its findings and provide input on possible flood reduction options.

Read more about the project and download the report at:

https://www.nema.gov.au/our-work/resilience/northern-rivers-resilience-initiative

EXTREME WEATHER LOSSES EXCEED $1.8 BILLION - ICA

Data released by the Insurance Council of Australia shows that the total insured cost of extreme weather events which impacted Australia in the first half of 2025 now exceeds $1.8 billion.

Incurred claims from the most recent event, the Mid-North Coast and Hunter Floods, have reached almost $200 million across 11,500 claims.

Incurred claims from the most costly and widespread event this year, Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, have now exceeded 125,000 claims totalling $1.36 billion.

Incurred claims from the North Queensland floods in February have reached $274 million across more than 11,000 claims.

ICA Director of Mitigation and Extreme Weather Response Liam Walter said “While this damage bill isn’t as severe as first expected, we acknowledge that for many communities, recovery is still very much ongoing and there is still a long road ahead.

“The ICA is also closely monitoring the weather event that’s unfolding in New South Wales and urges residents right along the coast to follow the advice of emergency services.

“Insurers are leaning forward and ready to support communities should they be impacted.”

A summary of insured losses is available at the ICA’s Data Hub: https://insurancecouncil.com.au/industry-members/data-hub/

FLOOD COP TAPESTRY NOW AVAILABLE

Pictured: Elton Chong (City of Moreton Bay) interviewed by Piet Filet (Flood CoP).

Attendees at the recent FMA National Conference in Melbourne were invited to participate in a pilot project being developed by the Queensland Flood Community of Practice (Flood CoP) to record a snapshot of the diverse practitioners shaping floodplain management.

CoP Convenor Piet Filet conducted short chats with conference attendees to hear their stories and understand their role in flood resilience. The tapestry then weaves these insights together and assigns each participant a personal avatar.

Piet said the team enjoyed doing this pilot version of the Tapestry, and hopes to repeat and expand this opportunity with future audiences.

To understand more about the Tapestry, and learn something of the professional journeys of conference colleagues visit https://floodcop.com.au/tapestry/

UNSURE ABOUT HOW TO RELEASE YOUR FLOOD DATA? THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR YOU!

The afternoon Workshop at the FMA NSW/ACT Chapter Quarterly Meeting on 14 August will feature Young Floodplain Manager of the Year Naomi Harris who will expand on her 2025 Conference presentation “Analysing the Broader Risks of Publicising Flood Information - A Council Case Study”.

In 2020 Blacktown City Council sought to update its public flood information to reflect a recently completed flood study. As there was a significant gap between internal and external flood data, and no established internal processes for publicising new studies, a new structured process was needed to guide its release.

Ms Harris will discuss the challenges that were faced and overcome, then attendees will be invited to identify issues for further exploration, and our expert panel will provide practical suggestions to help you more effectively inform your community about flood risks.

Details about FMA Meetings and Workshops are at: https://www.floods.asn.au/meetings

WEBINAR: TE MANA O TE WAI INDIGENOUS-LED INNOVATION IN FLOOD RESILIENCE (NEW ZEALAND)

Image credit: Murray Armstrong

Register now for the upcoming webinar hosted by New Zealand's Resilient Communities "Te Mana o te Wai Indigenous-Led Innovation in Flood Resilience", which discusses the Otiria-Moerewa Flood Mitigation Spillway and Bridge Project.

FMA Conference delegates will be familiar with the project, a collaboration between Northland Regional Council and Ngāti Hine Iwi Ngati Kopaki Ngati Te Ara, Hapu in Aotearoa New Zealand, as it achieved a High Commendation in the 2025 FMA Excellence Awards for its best practice approach to flood risk management.

This project exemplifies how Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and modern engineering can work hand-in-hand to restore natural flood flows, protect communities, and uphold Te Mana o te Wai the intrinsic value of water.

The Webinar will cover how this initiative:

Reduced flood severity by 75% through “re-wilding” waterways
Empowered local hapū and whānau through co-design and wānanga (workshops)
Set a new precedent for ethical land use and indigenous-led infrastructure
Created a scalable model for sustainable, culturally aligned flood risk management
Three Maori Land block owners built this spillway, and land was giving back, from FNDC that was not longer required.

Presenters: Chantez Connor-Kingi and Joseph Camuso, Northland Regional Council.

Date: August 5
Time: 10am (Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne)

Register:https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kWPpdzjcTuKl-UtQZRkChQ#/registration

YFM MONTHLY FEATURE

YFM QLD is pleased to announce its next event is occurring online and in-person on August 21st!

Bridging the Gap: Wisdom from Floodplain Pioneers

Join us for an evening of storytelling and sage advice as retired floodplain professionals reflect on decades of experience. Whether you’re just starting out or seeking inspiration, come along to hear from veteran practitioners as they pass on the torch with stories, challenges, and key insights that guided their journey.

Featuring Graeme Milligan and Terry Malone, this event is not to be missed!

YFM QLD - Bridging the gap: Wisdom from floodplain pioneers Tickets, Thu, Aug 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM | Eventbrite