Supporting the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales

We're supporting the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales to drive long-term resilience.

The Government has committed $11.4 million to understand climate, catchment and hydrological drivers in the area.

The Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative (NRRI) is being led by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in partnership with us.

The NRRI is being delivered in two phases.

Phase 1 assessed and prioritised community supported options for flood reduction projects. 

CSIRO prepared two reports, which NEMA and the NSW Government have considered.  

Read the reports below. 

• Report 1 - Rapid Prioritisation for Flood Resilience in the Northern Rivers region 
• Report 2 - Characterisation of the 2022 floods in the Northern Rivers region 

CSIRO worked closely with Alluvium Consulting and our local Coordination Planning Officers. They reviewed and assessed existing flood reduction options.

The process was thorough. It involved key stakeholders in the seven Northern Rivers Local Government Areas. This included local councils and community groups. This consultation was in the form of: 

• Meetings and workshops 
• 15 community engagement sessions 
• 345 surveys responses. 

This informed projects assessed by CSIRO in its Phase 1 Report. The report also helped inform the Australian Government’s commitment of $150 million under the 2022-23  Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program.

Phase 2 involves:

• the development of a hydrodynamic model for the Richmond River catchment and,
• identifying future flood reduction options

As part of this work, CSIRO has mapped the:

• Richmond and Tweed rivers and parts of the Brunswick river, and
• the landscape of the entire Northern Rivers region.

This data was released on 28 June 2024 on the Geoscience Australia website.

The data will serve as vital inputs for the detailed hydrodynamic model of the Richmond River catchment.

On 30 June 2025, the model along with a supporting technical report will be complete.

Further information on the NRRI is available on CSIRO’s website.