The federally funded North Queensland Strata Title Inspection Program offering free assessments of a property’s resilience against cyclone risks has seen a jump in interest, according to Program Manager Patrick Driscoll.

He says the increase in requests from body corporates in the region signals a better understanding of the benefits of the $12.5 million, three-year program since its launch about 18 months ago.

The program presently completes nearly 80 inspections and reports every month, compared to just over four a month after it was introduced.

“In the first year we were modest in the number of inspections that we did and the reports we produced,” Mr Driscoll told insuranceNEWS.com.au today. “There has been some education in the past six months since I took over the project.

“Since then there has been some informed thinking on the benefits of the report. From our point of view, there is now good information in the marketplace about its value.

“The report is seen as a real reflection about the resilience of a building and most importantly, it makes recommendations on how the building and its ground can be made more resilient.”

Mr Driscoll says the program is due to finish on June 30 next year and hopes that it will be extended.

The program is administered by the Queensland Government and independently developed and implemented by James Cook University.

Inspections are free for strata properties located within 100km of the north Queensland coast, north of the southernmost boundary of the Rockhampton Regional council area, extending to the NT border and including islands off the Queensland coast.

The program aims to increase resilience of strata properties and provide strategies for improvements where necessary.

For more about the inspection program, click here.