Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements

The funding to pay for the reinstatement is sourced from the Federal and State Government under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) which guide the National Disaster Financial Assistance (NDFA). The Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements require a strong degree of scrutiny to ensure that taxpayer’s money is spent appropriately. The size of the infrastructure recovery project means Council is keen to ensure that all the damage from this event is assessed. Comprehensive inspections of all roads, bridges and culverts and key dam walls, footpaths and stormwater systems are nearing completion.

The information that must be collected to support a claim is:

There are a number of sites where the damage is complex and the solution will require specialist advice for example tunnel erosion. This has been found on a number of roads and is characterised by a hole (or holes) on the uphill side of a road resulting in water forcing a path or tunnel under the road and emerging downhill often at multiple locations.

Discussions with the Department of Treasury and Finance and Vic Roads (as the auditing authority for the NDRRA Grants) will continue over the life of the recovery project (until at least June 2019). This will include regular inspections of both proposed and completed works to ensure that repairs are consistent with everyone’s expectations.

All procurement is undertaken in a manner to ensure fairness and transparency. Council is committed to maintaining the highest levels of integrity and able to withstand the closest possible audit scrutiny.

Councils Procurement Policy requires that the purchase of all goods and services for which the estimated expenditure exceeds $150,000, to be undertaken by public tender and determined by council. A copy of the Council Procurement Policy document can be found by following this link to our webpage Publications, Policies & Strategies, under the heading Council Policies.

Council strives to provide value for money and uses a number of procurement methods to achieve this including quotes, tenders and preferred supplier tenders.

Council is committed to buying from local businesses where such purchases may be justified on Value for Money grounds, while remaining compliant with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and other fair trading legislation requirements.

The timeline for tender process can take up to 3 months which includes:

Tenders were advertised in June 2017 to complete two large packages of road restoration works. Additional tenders will be advertised to address all inspected roads.

When available, tender documents are available to download from Council's e-tendering portal.

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the e-tendering portal.