Getting SAVi about the intangible benefits of infrastructure investment

27 April 2026

How do you measure the total benefits of resilience when it comes to disaster recovery?

We can roughly estimate how much is saved when a previously repaired asset is built back better and stands up to the next disaster event, but what about the intangible flow on effects that keep impacted communities connected and functioning?

For example, a review of reconstruction costs associated with Betterment projects from 2013-23 revealed that, from an investment of $244 million in projects that were re-impacted by subsequent disasters, approximately $988 million was saved in avoided reconstruction costs.

However, the full benefits to communities by recognising the intangible outcomes of these projects, had not been captured or valued.

What is the best way to capture the social, economic, and environmental benefits that flow from investing in resilience?

Prior to 2024, no suitable tool existed to complete this important calculation.

Addressing that gap inspired a partnership between the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

A pilot project customised IISD’s Sustainable Asset Valuation initiative (SAVi) Tool and retrospectively tested it against a range of Betterment projects throughout Queensland.

Queensland’s Betterment Fund has proven upfront investment in stronger, more disaster resilient infrastructure creates more resilient communities and saves money for all levels of government in future disasters.

The SAVi tool evaluates intangible benefits by using 15 indicators to explore the full benefits of the investment, going far beyond simply calculating avoided reconstruction costs.

This approach provides an evidence base to understand how infrastructure investments impact communities, including those disproportionately affected by disasters.

For example, when SAVi was retrospectively applied to the 2013 Betterment project for North Burnett’s Gayndah Water Supply Intake Station, the cost-benefit analysis demonstrated that avoided costs far exceeded reconstruction and restoration costs with the station remaining functional throughout all subsequent natural disaster events.

QRA has trialled SAVi when analysing potential future betterment projects and has conducted user testing with stakeholders to identify further applications and improvements.

Results confirmed the tool has the potential to better quantify all benefits of resilience to help prioritise future investments in infrastructure projects.

Measuring these benefits also supports diversity and inclusion by ensuring infrastructure investments address the unique needs of communities to foster equitable recovery and resilience outcomes.

QRA is collaborating with Partners for Infrastructure (P4I), an Australian Government initiative, to extend the functionality and applicability of the tool and make it more user-friendly.

Enhancements include incorporating more data and information to quantify additional benefits, including for transport, the environment, the economy, and human and social issues.

This approach reinforces QRA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, ensuring that no community is left behind in recovery and resilience efforts.

In 2024, QRA partnered with the International Institute for Sustainable Development to retrospectively test the Sustainable Asset Valuation initiative (SAVi) Tool against a range of infrastructure Betterment projects throughout Queensland.

1/8

Gayndah-Mundubbera Road in the North Burnett suffered extreme damage in 2013 when the Burnett River overtopped its banks and destroyed the vital rural connector.

2/8

When the SAVi Tool was applied to the $8 million 2013 Betterment project for Gayndah Mundubbera Road, it found the avoided restoration costs associated with the project over seven events was $47.5 million. When the indirect benefits to the highly productive agricultural towns of Gayndah and Mundubbera were added to this figure, the avoided costs rose by $7.7 million to $53.9 million.

3/8

Aurukun Access Road provides the only road link to and from the Aurukun community in the remote Cape York Peninsula and suffered major damage in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

4/8

Betterment funding from 2013 was used to bitumen-seal a 10-kilometre section of the road that was particularly vulnerable to flood damage. It has since withstood the impacts of 10 separate natural disaster events, avoiding reconstruction costs of $8.6 million. When indirect benefits of the project to the Aurukun community were considered including social, economic and environmental benefits, this figure rose by $3.9 million to $10.3 million.

5/8

The Gayndah Water Intake Station suffered major catastrophic damage in 2013. A $3.6 million Betterment project rebuilt the Station upstream with a new design to ensure it remained functioning during and after future floods.

6/8

Gayndah Water Intake Station post Betterment

When the indirect benefits of the project were applied to the Gayndah communities ability to access safe potable water in the days following subsequent floods, the amount was estimated at more than $2 million.

7/8

QRA will continue to use SAVi when analysing potential future betterment projects to provide an evidence base to understand how infrastructure investments impact diverse communities, including those disproportionately affected by disasters.

8/8