Bushfire recovery

Eurobodalla Bushfire Recovery Support Service

The Eurobodalla Bushfire Recovery Support Service operated between August 2020 and January 2023.

Case Managers assisted fire impacted residents access services, including financial and housing assistance, clean-up, rebuilding and DA information, mental health support and more.

Eurobodalla Bushfire Recovery Support Service was run by Eurobodalla Council, and one of seven recovery support services jointly funded by the NSW and Australian governments, supporting the communities most severely impacted by the 2019/20 bushfires.

Rebuilding and repairing

Find out about types of approval, waived fees, building design professionals, and planning provisions aimed to assist those rebuilding after bushfire:

• Rebuilding and repairing

Private landholders who share a boundary with public land and were impacted by the 2019/2020 bushfires were eligible for up to $5,000 per kilometre to contribute to the replacement of damaged boundary fences:

• Local Land Services' public land boundary fencing program

Small businesses impacted by the bushfires can also get free financial counselling from the Small Business Bushfire Financial Counselling Support Line.

Council’s Bushfire Recovery Plan sets out activities to rebuild and restore the Eurobodalla Shire's social, built, economic and natural environments:

• Bushfire Recovery Action Plan

Read the final reports and Eurobodalla Council's submissions for the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and the NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry:

• Bushfire Inquiry and Royal Commission

A Council report presented at the ordinary Council meeting on 13 September 2022 summarises the damage to Council’s infrastructure caused by the 2019-2020 bushfires and the nine natural disaster floods that followed. It also provides an overview of Council’s extensive work since to:

• recover local road and bridge infrastructure
• improve overall infrastructure resilience
• advocate for further support from the NSW and Australian Governments to improve the resilience of infrastructure.

The report was presented to Council at the ordinary meeting on 13 September 2022.

• Report to Council - Infrastructure recovery and resilience – natural disasters (6.9 MB)

The bushfires impacted 80 per cent of the shire, damaging essential infrastructure. We've been working on roads, bridges, sewer facilities, and other equipment to help communities get re-connected and back on track.

• Restoring our infrastructure

Bushfire-Affected Coastal Waterways Project

The 2019/2020 bushfires affected a diverse range of landscapes and ecosystems across the Eurobodalla, Shoalhaven and Bega local government areas (LGAs).

Eurobodalla, Shoalhaven and Bega councils engaged an independent consultant to prepare a Catchment and Waterways Bushfire Recovery Plan for south-east NSW. The objective of the plan is to prioritise high-risk sites for targeted ecological restoration activities to aid bushfire recovery and build environmental resilience.

Find out more

• Shoalhaven City Council: South-East Catchment and Waterways Bushfire Recovery Plan
• Read more about the Catchment and Waterways Bushfire Recovery Plan and Bushfire-Affected Coastal Waterways Project.

Contact us

For more information about the Bushfire-Affected Coastal Waterways Project or the South-East Catchment and Waterways Bushfire Recovery Plan, contact Prue Haantjens, Natural Resource Management Project Officer on:

• T: 02 4474 1373
• E: Prue Haantjens

Estuary Monitoring Program

In November 2020 our monthly Estuary Monitoring Program was expanded to include parameters aimed at identifying impacts to fire-affected waterways. The further monitoring is carried out in consultation with the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment to assess aquatic ecosystem health in response to the 2019-2020 bushfires.

The program includes the following estuaries within the Eurobodalla LGA:

• Clyde River
• Tomaga River
• Moruya River
• Tuross River
• Coila Lake
• Wagonga Inlet.

Find out more

• Read about the Estuary Monitoring Program

Eurobodalla Nesting Box Program

Nesting boxes are artificial hollows that provide habitat to native wildlife. The boxes cannot replace an old growth tree with diverse hollows, but in areas where these hollows no longer exist, nesting boxes can benefit some wildlife species.

• Over 300 species of our native animals use tree hollows for nesting, breeding and shelter.
• Hollows provide a safe home away from predators and the weather.
• It can take hundreds of years for a tree to develop hollows. They are crucial for the survival of many native animals.

The devastation of the 2019/20 summer bushfires resulted in a significant reduction in the number of hollows across the Eurobodalla. With thanks to funding from WIRES and government grants, we are installing nesting boxes for local wildlife throughout the Eurobodalla Shire.

Find out more

• Read about the Eurobodalla Nesting Box Program

Contact us

For more information about the Eurobodalla Nesting Box Program, contact Courtney Fink-Downes, Natural Resources Supervisor on:

• T: 02 4474 7493
• E: Courtney Fink-Downes