Community groups in Queensland should be eligible for flood recovery grants given to small businesses, the head of the non-profit sector's peak body says.
David Crosbie, CEO of the Community Council of Australia, says community organisations in flood-hit areas like Ipswich and Toowoomba are not eligible for recovery grants available to small businesses and primary producers.
Non-profit groups' exclusion from grants shows the extent to which authorities take their efforts for granted, Mr Crosbie says.
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"Who decided that not-for profit organisations are less deserving of support for rebuilding and recovery within flood-ravaged communities than businesses and primary producers?" Mr Crosbie said.
"We know from experience in the Victorian bushfire regions and other emergencies around Australia that rebuilding businesses is only one part of the recovery process.
"There are hundreds of not-for profit organisations that are at the heart of community life, both economically and socially."
Mr Crosbie said the important roles played by sporting clubs, welfare organisations, art and cultural groups, recreation, education and employment groups, environment and animal welfare groups, housing organisations and support groups for carers could not be underestimated.
He said not-for-profit organisations contributed more than $43 billion to Australia's economy, significantly more than the agriculture, communications or tourism sectors, so they had a role to play in the economic as well as the emergency recovery from the floods.
"Perhaps this exclusion reflects the level to which some governments and policy makers take for granted the organisations that are actually at the very heart of our communities," Mr Crosbie said.
Mr Crosbie has raised his concerns with policy makers within the federal government and he said he understood they were now actively reviewing the situation.
