Black Summer bushfire rebuilds on NSW Far South Coast hampered by shortage of tradies

David Wilson and Kyle Moser's Cobargo home was destroyed during the Black Summer fires, but after waiting 18 months for approval to rebuild they are facing further delays.

The couple spent months modifying plans for their new home, which contributed to the delay of getting the building process started.

But now they are bracing for delays due to a high demand for tradies in the region.

"There's so much building activity going on — it's a long distance out before they can actually start on your property," Mr Wilson said.

"What really worries me is the price of materials has just skyrocketed.

"The availability of timber, for example is just quite frightening at the price.

"We had an insurance payout, but that's just shrinking by the month."

The couple were allocated a Minderoo Foundation Pod in the aftermath of the bushfires, and although grateful for the donation, they also stay at another place in town to escape the cold..

"Eighteen months in, they're very small, they're very cold," Mr Wilson said.

"Our living circumstances are that we don't have to spend every night here — we can go to another accommodation in town, so we're a lot luckier.

'Absolutely gangbusters'

Batemans Bay builder Matthew Findlay says it is a challenge to keep up with the demand for bushfire rebuilds and pandemic-induced tree-changer renovations.

"Business is going absolutely gangbusters at the moment, but it's been a bit of a struggle trying to get the tradies around," he said.

Mr Findlay said some of the delays were due to a backlog in home approvals and a shortage of building products.

A lack of accommodation in the region had also proved a hindrance.

"My one concern is that there isn't any affordable housing that people can rent down here," Mr Findlay said.

"We're short for housing, which means we're short for tradies.

Mr Findlay is trying to rebuild himself.

His property in Surf Beach was among those destroyed during the Black Summer bushfires.

He said was difficult telling fire-affected customers about setbacks when he was experiencing them firsthand.

"It's more of the internal strain that you get from hearing these materials can't come," Mr Findlay said.

"We can't get it going again — we just got to wait.

A place to call home

Of the 949 homes destroyed in the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla during the Black Summer bushfires, 46 dwellings have been rebuilt.

Four hundred and sixty-four development applications have been received in total between the two councils that occupy the Far South Coast, 247 of which have been approved for dwellings.

Verona resident Lindy Marshall's application was among the first to be approved.

"I realised very early on the scale of this tragedy and destruction was that there would be an enormous queue of people that wanted houses," she said.

Ms Marshall said she was quick to contact her insurance company and buy a kit home, allowing her to beat a series of heavy rain events that caused other construction to be halted.

"It was actually quite a fast journey for me, because I was lucky enough to be able to reuse the existing slab I had for the old house and building had started before we had the first heavy rains last year," she said.

"This particular company I chose did everything — they even did the clothesline … the only thing I had to sort out was the woodfire heater."

Ms Marshall acknowledged the process had not been as smooth for others.

"After you've seen the wreckage of what was your life, it's actually quite depleting," she said.