Published works

The CRC Project A9 entitled “Cost-Effective Mitigation Strategy Development for Building Related Earthquake Risk” is seeking to address the need for an evidence base to inform decision making on the mitigation of the earthquake risk posed by vulnerable Australian buildings.  It aims to develop information related to more vulnerable Australian building types in the following areas:-

• retrofit strategy options for high risk buildings to reduce their vulnerability;
• the current and retrofitted performance of these buildings;
• the cost of implementing the retrofit strategies; and,
• the ability to assess the benefit of avoided societal costs through the implementation of these strategies.

This report describes progress made against the last component which is directed at economic loss modelling.  The work has been guided by, and is consistent with, the project team consensus achieved at a single day workshop convened at Swinburne University on the 23rd October 2015.

The economic loss modelling approach aims to encompass the information needs of a range of decision makers.  These view benefits through different “lenses” and at differing scales.  For this research they include:-

• Building owners.
• Owners of both the building and business.
• Local Government for a business precinct.
• Jurisdictional and Federal Governments and their additional interest in economic loss associated with health care and lost productivity.

In this report a background is provided on the motivations for this project.  The current findings of an ongoing literature survey are presented, and the economic modelling frameworks proposed by the project team are described.  This report corresponds with the Geoscience Australia component of the 30 June 2016 project milestone deliverable “Progress Report on Economic and Damage Loss Models”.