As climate events grow more intense and frequent, clubs across Australia are rethinking how they design for resilience. At Paynter Dixon, we’ve helped many organisations not only recover from disasters, but bounce back stronger, smarter, and faster.

“You can’t do much with a bucket.”

That’s the blunt wisdom from Mark Robson, Senior Project Manager at Paynter Dixon, who helps clubs and community organisations prepare for and recover from serious floods.

Thankfully, some clubs have taken this advice to heart and are preparing well in advance.

Planning for the inevitable

During the May 2025 floods, the Macleay River spilled over its levee and into Kempsey Macleay RSL.

But the club was ready.

In a refurbishment several years earlier, they worked with Paynter Dixon to include features designed to minimise damage and speed up recovery:

• A water sensor in the lift shaft to automatically raise the elevator
• A modular reception desk that could be unplugged and moved upstairs
• A foyer designed with hose-down materials to allow quick clean-up and reopening.

“Being so close to the river, the club knew flooding was inevitable,” Mark says.

“These small additions made a big difference: less damage, faster recovery, and a quicker return to trade.”

“Yes, they add to building costs, but remember: every day you’re shut is lost revenue.”

When floodwaters rise, panicked decisions can take hold

Mark has seen what happens when clubs are unprepared.

“We’ve seen people trying to rip up carpet mid-flood,” Mark says.

“But you’re better off saving your tills, hardware, poker machines, or anything with historical value.”

“The carpet’s the least of your worries.”

Lismore Workers Club learned that lesson the hard way following the 2017 floods.

With Paynter Dixon’s help, they redesigned the club to protect their most valuable items. This included:

• Moving gaming areas to level 1
• Moving data servers and admin offices to level 2
• Making the ground floor a dedicated reception area, with limited valuable assets.

Thanks to those changes, they avoided a full shutdown during the 2022 floods.

And with their data servers safe, two sister venues kept trading, even as their main site went under.

The risk of replacing like for like

“When rebuilding after a disaster, you want to go beyond reinstating what was there, which is often what insurance builders do,” says Tim Kurniadi, Paynter Dixon’s General Manager of Remedial and Insurance.

“They’ll get new plasterboard and carpet and then face the same problem next time.”

“Paynter Dixon aren’t just insurance builders; we’re a full construction company who understands insurance.”

“We can help you reduce the risk of repeat losses by making sure you rebuild with an eye to the future.”

Paynter Dixon won the $10–20 million category at the 2025 Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Construction Awards for our work at Lismore Workers Club.