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Review of the Flood Adjustment Factor determination

Claimants have the right to request a review of their flood adjustment factor and the inputs used on their claim within 28 days of receiving it.

Please note that the method for calculating the flood adjustment factor has been approved by the Court and you may only request a review of the flood adjustment factor for the following reasons:

  • Incorrect representative coordinates were used;
  • An incorrect property or business type has been assumed;
  • An incorrect first floor elevation has been assumed;
  • Incorrect representative curves were used; and/or
  • An exception to using the Flood Model depths applies. In situations where assessors consider that the modelled flood depths may not accurately reflect the inundation levels of the property, assessors may determine the actual and counterfactual flood levels from other evidence and/or expert advice and notify you of the methodology used.


To request a review, Claimants will need to:


Claimants will need to include a statement which specifically explains the perceived error or omission. It will be your responsibility to supply adequate evidence to show that the figures used to calculate the flood adjustment factor are incorrect and you will need to supply the correct parameters. If you do not provide adequate evidence or the perceived error or omission, you review request may be rejected.


Review of Fast Track Assessments

At the conclusion of the Fast Track Assessment process, Claimants will be issued with a Final Notice of Assessment and a statement of reasons. To request a review, Claimants will need to:


A review of the Fast Track assessment will only consider whether the Administrator correctly applied the Fast Track methodology, it will not re-assess loss using an alternative methodology. A Claimant cannot seek a review of any other matters such as the losses relevant to settlement and the funding commission as well as any matters that could have been or were the subject of a review of the flood adjustment factor. 

Claimants will be required to pay a $3,000 bond for the cost of the review*. Once any bond is paid, a Review Assessor will be appointed to review the claim and their decision will be final and binding. If a Claimant fails to pay a bond within 14 days of receiving a request to pay it, the request for review will become void and be of no effect.

If the outcome of the review assessment is equal to or up to 10% above the assessed loss in the Final Notice of Assessment, you may be required to pay the costs of the review assessment. For example, if the assessed loss contained in the Final Notice of Assessment is $50,000 and a review is undertaken and the amended assessed loss is equal to $50,000 or up to $55,000, then you may be required to pay the costs of the review. The cost of the review will vary depending on the nature of the claim and may be more than the bond payment amount. If the cost of the review is above the bond payment amount, this will be deducted from the compensation amount payable.

If the outcome of the review assessment is 10% (or more) above the assessed loss in the Final Notice of Assessment, any bond paid for the costs of the review shall be refunded. For example, if the assessed loss contained in the Final Notice of Assessment is $50,000 and a review is undertaken and the amended assessed loss is equal to or greater than $55,000 then the bond will be refunded and you will not be required to pay the costs of the review.

Claimants are not entitled to reimbursement for any costs they incur in respect of review assessments. For example, if you need to obtain an independent valuation from an expert.


Informal review of the Loss Assessors' Provisional Notice of Assessment

At the conclusion of their assessment (for standard residential and commercial assessments), loss assessors will provide Claimants with a Provisional Notice of Assessment and a provisional statement of reasons which explains how the losses have been assessed.

If a Claimant believes that there are any errors or omissions in the Provisional Notice of Assessment, then they must advise the loss assessor within 28 days of receiving the notice by sending an email to queenslandflood@mauriceblackburn.com.au. The email must provide details of the errors or omissions and provide any supporting documents.

Under the Court-approved Settlement Scheme, supporting documents which the loss assessor is able to consider include:

  • Insurer assessments/insurer reports of the losses or other such insurance documents;
  • Receipts or invoices or any other documentation which show actual costs incurred to replace or repair the flood-affected property.


In the instance that a claimant believes that the assessment does not adequately reflect the drop in market value of a flood-affected property due to physical damage (a property that is still flood-damaged in whole or in part), they should provide evidence from a qualified valuer in their supporting documents. For flood-damaged properties that were sold (that were not full reinstated), this should include the market value of the property at the time of sale had it been undamaged, or fully reinstated, and evidence of the actual sale price obtained by the Claimant. Photographs and general public information about prices of like property, goods or repairs are not sufficient.  

Please note, if there is no physical damage caused by the flood, and the loss of property value is due to rezoning, new flood mapping models, or the stigma of an area being flood-prone, this is not covered by the settlement scheme. This is because it is very difficult legally to claim for the loss of property value, based on a concern that the land has flooded and may flood again in the future (or ‘flood stigma’ that the property is flood prone land), or due to council rezoning land. The principles set out in the scheme approved by the Court are intended to broadly reflect the recoverability of losses under the law and this kind of loss is likely too remote and therefore not recoverable under the settlement. Loss of property value may only be considered in instances when the physical damage to the property is partly repaired or not repaired (as a flood-damaged property is worth less). If the physical damage was fully repaired then loss of property value will not be considered in the loss assessment under the Scheme, as all the damage was repaired (however, you may claim for the cost of repairing the damage).

Please be aware that for some sorts of losses, the Settlement Scheme provides a standard rate, assessment methodology or a $0 assessment, even where supporting documents are provided by a Claimant. In these circumstances, the loss assessors are obliged to assess in accordance with the rates or methodology set out in the Court-approved Settlement Scheme, notwithstanding the provision of such information by the Claimant. 

Please note that the review cannot dispute any matters that could have been or were the subject of a review of the flood adjustment factor. A Claimant cannot seek a review of the losses relevant to the settlement and the funding commission.

If a request for review is received within the 28-day timeframe, then the loss assessor will review the information and take whatever further steps to investigate the alleged errors or omission that the loss assessor determine to be necessary before issuing the Final Notice of Assessment.


Review of the Final Notice of Assessment

At the conclusion of the assessment process (for standard residential and commercial assessments), Claimants will receive a Final Notice of Assessment which sets out the final assessment of the losses sustained and includes a statement of reasons explaining how the losses have been assessed. It will also include the outcome of any review which was sought in respect of the Provisional Notice of Assessment. 

To request a review, Claimants will need to:


Request for review must identify the parts of the assessment which the Claimant disputes and provide reasons. 

A Claimant cannot seek a review of any other matters, such as the losses relevant to settlement and the funding commission, or any matters that could have been or were the subject of a review of the flood adjustment factor.

Claimants will be required to pay a bond for the cost of the Review Assessment*. For residential claims, the bond is $3,000, and for commercial claims, the bond is $5,000. If the Claimant fails to pay a bond within 14 days of receiving a request to pay it, the request for review will become void and be of no effect.

Once any bond is paid, a Review Assessor will be appointed to review the claim and their decision will be final and binding and will be based on the following:

  • The claim details;
  • The Final Notice of Assessment;
  • The components of the assessment which are disputed by the Claimant and the reasons why those components are disputed; and/or
  • The advice of an expert (if considered appropriate by the Review Assessor and approved by the Administrator).


If the outcome of the review assessment is equal to or up to 10% above the assessed loss in the Final Notice of Assessment, you may be required to pay the costs of the review assessment.* For example, if the assessed loss contained in the Final Notice of Assessment is $50,000 and a review is undertaken and the amended assessed loss is equal to $50,000 or up to $55,000 then you may be required to pay the costs of the review. The cost of the review will vary depending on the nature of the claim and may be more than the bond payment amount. If the cost of the review is above the bond payment amount, this will be deducted from the compensation amount payable.

If the outcome of the review assessment is 10% (or more) above the assessed loss in the Final Notice of Assessment, any bond paid for the costs of the review shall be refunded. For example, if the assessed loss contained in the Final Notice of Assessment is $50,000 and a review is undertaken and the amended assessed loss is equal to or greater than $55,000 then the bond will be refunded and you will not be required to pay the costs of the review.

Claimants are not entitled to reimbursement for any costs they incur in respect of review assessments. For example, if you need to obtain an independent valuation from an expert.


Review rights in respect of a nil entitlement Final Notice of Assessment issued by the Administrator

A Claimant may be issued with a nil Final Notice of Assessment for the following reasons:

  • A Claimant does not meet the eligibility criteria of the class action. Ineligible claims will include claims where the only loss suffered relates to pure economic loss and claims where the loss address is outside of the Court-approved flood model;
  • A Claimant does not provide the Administrator with the information required for the settlement administration by deadlines advised in writing to the Claimant;
  • A Claimant does not provide valid required information requested by the Administrator;
  • A Claimant withdraws from the class action, in writing and subject to approval by the litigation funder.


Where the Administrator issues a Final Notice of Assessment as nil, along with a statement of reasons, a Claimant may request an informal review by sending an email to queenslandflood@mauriceblackburn.com.au. The request for an informal review must include a statement which specifically explains the reasons for the Claimant’s disagreement with the nil entitlement assessment.

If, after conducting an informal review, the Administrator confirms the nil entitlement assessment, the claimant will have 28 days to request a Review Assessment. The Administrator may require the Claimant to pay a bond for the cost of the Review Assessment. For residential claims, the bond will be $3,000, and for commercial claims, the bond will be $5,000. Once any bond is paid, a Review Assessor will be appointed to review the claim and the Review Assessor’s decision will be final and binding.


Claims assessed through Court ordered reference process

Reviews for Provisional Notices of Assessment and Final Notices of Assessment issued for the Court-ordered reference process will be in accordance with the review processes set out in the Settlement Scheme.


* Maurice Blackburn may waive this requirement to pay a bond where it considers that, even compared to the typical circumstances of Claimants, the Claimant’s circumstances disclose special compassionate grounds for the waiver. 

View a Comparison Table of Assessment Types here

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