Flooding in Seymour last week has reignited flood mitigation and recovery discussions as the town remains ‘on its knees’ for support since the October 2022 flood.
Inside the homes along High Street – behind the facades of manicured lawns and gardens – lies a pressing issue for dozens of Seymour families.

At number 13, owned by Courtney Carroll and her husband Brett, timber joists and the frame of a newly-renovated kitchen are all that remain on the ground level – 15 months since the family home was inundated.
Ms Carroll’s business Stihl on adjoining Wallis Street was also inundated, leaving the family with a mountain of cleanup and restoration bills.
The Carrolls put in a claim with their home insurer, unaware they would be starting a one-year battle for an adequate payout while repairing their business and living in a rental property.
Several Seymour families were denied insurance payouts in 2022 when hydrologists and insurers claimed the inundation was only due to floodwater – not stormwater runoff.
However, forensic accountant and Mitchell Shire resident TR Keller disputed the insurer claims as ‘mis and disinformation’ in favour of numerous Seymour home and business owners.
His investigations uncovered a stop valve at the High Street outlet into the Goulburn River that disputed insurers’ claims water had pushed out of the Goulburn River through the stormwater system into High Street and into the stormwater system in Wallis Street.
“No water could back up [on] High Street because the stop valve is there,” Mr Keller said.
His hydrologist’s findings also concluded Whiteheads Creek could not have overflowed to hit Wallis Street properties, as water would have needed to abound a catchment area before doing so.



Ms Carroll took her claim to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, AFCA, and had to hire an independent hydrologist to disprove her insurer’s reports.
The family was unable to switch their policies due to the state of the house, and in the meantime, their premium rose more than $15,000.
The Carrolls received a payout last month – 14 months since the floods – after feeling unable to pursue further ‘poorly handled’ and ‘pathetic’ insurance qualms.
“We’re just hoping we’ve taken enough cause we’ve taken on all the risk ourselves now,” Ms Carroll said.
“This is why you have insurance – to make life easier and you’ve got that security.
“The care factor is not there.”
Politicians see the damage
Ms Carroll showed Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland, Opposition Leader John Pesutto and the Shadow Emergency Minister Richard Riordan through her High Street property last week.

Mr Pesutto said the State Government could play ‘a huge role in insurance reform’ to place ‘heavier obligations on insurers’ to treat their customers in ‘good faith’.
“Insurance premiums also reflect the level of investment and the level of neglect that governments can demonstrate when it comes to investing in this infrastructure,” he said.
Mr Pesutto also called on the government to invest in flood mitigation, listing a flood levee, river gauges, early alert systems and satellite technology as potential investment areas and calling for one trusted source to distribute flood information to the community.
Mr Keller suggested a scheme in which an independent hydrologist and surveyor provide one report for multiple insured parties in catastrophic events, saving individuals thousands of dollars should they want to dispute their insurer.
All eyes on council
While Mr Keller didn’t ‘blame’ Mitchell Shire Council, he and some parts of the Seymour community were ready to see it employ flood mitigation strategies.
The demand for action comes after council dropped a Seymour flood levee in June 2020 ‘given the scale, complexity and risks involved in the delivery’ of the project.
“While everybody knows that Wallis Street and High Street is a hot spot for flooding due to the stop valve and the way the hydraulic controls flow in and out, nobody has actually done the work to figure out exactly how it’s working and how they can fix it – that’s what needs to be done,” Mr Keller said.
“If [council] don’t do something, then there’s going to be a lot of finger-pointing.”

Mitchell Shire Council Mayor Louise Bannister said council was investigating any role that backflow in local drainage systems may have played in the flood event.
“Council would also like to see constructive dialogue with both state and federal governments concerning the allocation of betterment funding for infrastructure,” she said.
“Rather than resorting to repetitive fixes adhering to existing standards after each weather event, we aim to implement sustainable solutions.
“These enduring measures are designed to withstand future challenges and, concurrently, alleviate long-term expenditures.”
• Full coverage of last week’s flooding in this week’s edition of the North Central Review.