The Queensland Local Council Package aims to ensure that disaster-affected communities have the water and sewage facilities, transport infrastructure and employment support they need to recover as quickly as possible.
The package has two components.
Firstly, the Federal and Queensland Governments will provide up to $A265 million to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to fast-track the repair of damaged infrastructure across Queensland.
As part of the recovery effort, severely damaged water and sewage infrastructure owned by local government will be prioritised.
Applications by water entities in South East Queensland will be assessed against their commercial capacity.
In addition, an upfront payment of $A50 million will be made available to help regional and remote councils employ people to perform important clean-up and repair work, with the option to provide further funding for employment if required.
The Queensland Government said that the package recognises the unique circumstances of many rural and regional councils in Queensland, which face difficulty in accessing contract labour due to their distance from major centres and competition with the mining industry.
Federal funding for the package is $A206 million, and the contribution from the Queensland Government will be $A109 million.