North West Queensland Regional Drought Resilience Plan

Project
Written By Aleisha Domrow

Building drought resilience in North West Queensland

Jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government, the Regional Drought Resilience Program (RDRP) aims to support regions to prepare for and manage future droughts.

Through the RDRP, the North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NWQROC) led the development of the North West Queensland Regional Drought Resilience Plan 2024-2030 in partnership with the Department of Primary Industries and Rural Economies Centre of Excellence.

The Plan provides for proactive decisions, actions and investment for drought preparedness across the North West. It reflects extensive collaboration with local councils, regional stakeholders, industry partners and community, ensuring the priorities and actions are grounded in local knowledge and regional needs.

Work is now underway through NWQROC to deliver priority actions identified in our region’s Plan.

Latest news

November 2025

The North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils has secured funding through the Regional Drought Resilience Program (RDRP) to begin delivering key actions in the North West Queensland Regional Drought Resilience Plan (2024–2030).

Actions already underway include the establishment of a subcommittee to guide delivery of the plan. Facilitated by NWQROC, the subcommittee will bring together key regional partners to coordinate activities and track progress.

On-ground activity includes surveying urban communities to identify underground water leaks, and a review of the region’s water meter assets and investigating metering options such as smart water meters, that can improve urban water security across NWQ.

Together, these initiatives mark a strong start to delivering practical, region-led drought resilience across North West Queensland.

Find out more about the Regional Drought Resilience Program for North West Queensland at: rdrpqld.org.au/region/north-west-region

The RDRP is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government. 

 

Background

The NWQ Regional Drought Resilience Plan builds upon the Regional Resilience Strategy as part of the Queensland Government’s Strategy for Disaster Resilience, led by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

The North West Queensland region plan includes the NWQROC member local governments of:

  • Burke Shire Council

  • Carpentaria Shire Council

  • Cloncurry Shire Council

  • Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council

  • Flinders Shire Council

  • McKinlay Shire Council

  • Mount Isa City Council

  • Richmond Shire Council

Croydon and Etheridge Shires are included in the Gulf Hinterland RDRP.

Kowanyama and Mornington Shires are included in the Torres Strait and Cape York RDRP.

Consultation and development

The RDRP project was delivered through three rounds of consultation. Engagement activities were undertaken across the to understand past impacts of drought, challenges faced by communities and producers and key priorities for improving preparedness for future droughts. This included a series of community-based workshops, targeted stakeholder meetings and workshops, and an online forum.

A series of workshops were held by Rural Economies Centre of Excellence and Southern Gulf NRM to hear from the community about activities and initiatives that can help to mitigate the impact of future drought.

Throughout October and November 2023, the project team led a similar activity at meetings and workshops with other stakeholders in the region.

More than 50 stakeholders from across the region connected with the workshops to provide feedback on past impacts of drought, gaps and barriers to managing drought impacts and future improvements and initiatives. An online regional forum was also hosted on 6 December 2023.

More information

Aleisha Domrow
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North Queensland Resilience Program 2024-2025