Planners, builders and insurers have held an inaugural roundtable that has pressed the importance of ensuring no more homes are built without considering flood plain risks, while also calling for national collaboration on retreats from extreme risk locations to address legacy threats.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), Master Builders Australia and the Planning Institute of Australia issued a communique after today’s event with reform recommendations, as government planning ministers also met.

The groups say that without reform, population pressures and inadequate planning laws will see further development of flood-prone land, putting lives at risk, costing taxpayers billions of dollars in recovery and remediation, and adding to an already strained insurance sector.

“Today’s roundtable set out the actions governments must take to ensure future financial losses to homeowners, businesses and the community are avoided, and better government planning and investment is taken seriously,” ICA CEO Andrew Hall said.

The roundtable was also supported by the Australian Local Government Association, which is promoting “building back better” as an overriding principle of disaster recovery funding arrangements.

Around 60 experts from government, financial services, property and community joined the discussions, which ranged across planning to avoid future exposure, managing known risks to existing settlement and strengthening arrangements for planned retreat where legacy risks are unacceptable.

Participants noted the importance of planning that is state-led, catchment-based and locally supported, incorporating flood risk and water catchment boundaries rather than local government boundaries.

Recommendations discussed included that planning ministers must complete work this year to develop a national standard for considering disaster and climate risk, as agreed by National Cabinet.

Federal, state and territory governments should work with industry via the Hazard Insurance Partnership to update, standardise and make publicly available climate hazard data and mapping that considers the long-term and prioritises high impact perils, including flood, the communique says.

Governments should, taking account of climate modelling, also use agreed parameters to limit new development in areas prone to risk from other forms of extreme weather events, including bushfires, cyclones and coastal hazards, it says.

The communique says participants noted that in some areas there are limits to how improved building resilience can reduce the risk, and solutions such as buying back properties will need to be considered.

For legacy threats, governments are urged to collaborate across jurisdictions to develop and adopt nationally consistent principles to underpin future action and investment in planned retreat from extreme risk locations.

Master Builders Association CEO Denita Wawn says planning laws must be fit for the future, with a housing crisis at the forefront for many communities and a growing population.

“Without fit for purpose planning laws technical building regulation will always fail,” Ms Wawn said.

“The housing industry needs clear and concise rules, that allow the industry to function and the community to have confidence.”