Federation Council has issued a warning to anyone planning new home construction to thoroughly test any claims of extra costs related to increased building heights.

At an extraordinary council meeting on May 6, councillors voted to pause any changes to flood mapping until a Flood Risk Management Study and Plan was complete and reverted to using the 2012 LED maps for all decision-making on land use and development.

However, chief executive Adrian Butler said the council was aware of misinformation where people building had claimed to have additional charges due to the new flood heights.

“On review, council found that the builder had, correctly, not built to the new height of the 2024 flood study and built according to the requirements placed on the subdivision prior to the flood study,” Mr Butler said.

Later this month, the council will assess all applications from firms who submitted applications for tender for the Flood Risk Management Study.

It is anticipated that the study would be completed by the end of 2027, with at least two community consultation rounds during the process and 2012 maps in use until then.

“As the next stage of the flood risk management process is undertaken, people need to stay informed via the many ways council shares this information … and real estate agents, builders, designers, surveyors and solicitors/conveyancers need to ensure they stay up to date to ensure they provide the best and most up to date advice,” Mr Butler said.

Federation Council has appealed to the community to understand that there is potential for a 1 per cent AEP flood to affect properties, and that the council could not find solutions to lessen the risk without continuing with this work.

“The head in the sand approach will not work, and scrapping the 2024 study entirely and starting again would set council back many years in seeking solutions,” Mr Butler said.

“It would set council back years in developing a new Local Environmental Plan to include rezonings for future growth areas for our council area, and it would mean council would be unlikely to receive any future State Government funding for this work.”

The council is developing an FAQ document which will be shared via its website and encouraged people to stay engaged as they move forward.

A flood advisory committee will be engaged with local representatives, and will share the many ways people can have input as the project proceeds.

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Tuesday, 30th September 2025

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