Three months after the biggest flood in Australia's history tore through Lismore and the Northern Rivers, the NSW Government launched the first temporary pod Village in Wollongbar to house the first of thousands of displaced residents.

Wollongbar was soon followed by ten (10) other pod villages throughout the Northern Rivers, including one in East Lismore at the end of Crawford Road.

Three years later, in March 2025, Wollongbar was the first 'Temporary Housing Village', as it is now named, to close.

(The Wollongbar POD Village May 2022)

Four more are scheduled to close by June 27 2025, three in the northern part of the region and one in the south, while conversations are underway with council's and landowners about the future of the other five Temporary Housing Villages.

The state government's problem in transitioning people to permanent accommodation is the lack of housing, including affordable, social, and rental housing, in Lismore and the Northern Rivers. This situation was exacerbated by the 2022 floods, and a solution is still a few years off.

When asked for an update from the NSW Reconstruction Authority, a spokesperson said, "Kingscliff, Evans Head, Pottsville and Brunswick Heads (Bayside) Temporary Housing Villages will stay open until 27 June 2025.

"The villages were always intended to be temporary to support flood-impacted residents get their lives back on track. The first village to cease operating was the Wollongbar Temporary Housing Village in March this year

"We know that people in the temporary housing villages still need assistance, which is why we are working with Homes NSW and our Community Housing Partners to support residents to find longer-term accommodation outside the temporary housing villages.

"The NSW Reconstruction Authority is also working with landowners, Councils and Homes NSW to see if operation of some of the remaining villages can be extended for a further period, because we want to make sure that people impacted by the floods get the housing they need while we work on building more social and affordable housing.

"The Reconstruction Authority is also assessing options regarding potential future use of the temporary housing infrastructure at the temporary villages, including if the pods could be used to support broader NSW Government housing objectives.

"In the aftermath of the devastating floods in 2022, the NSW Reconstruction Authority established 11 temporary housing villages in the Northern Rivers, with the assistance of councils and other landowners under crisis accommodation planning exemptions."