Hundreds of home owners in a flood-prone area are still waiting for upgrades to protect their houses from future devastation.
After record breaking floods swept through northern NSW in 2022, more than 400 homes were prioritised for resilience measures.
But only 21 upgrades have been completed, Reconstruction Authority chief Mal Lanyon told an inquiry on Friday.
Mr Lanyon said 17 homes had been raised to a higher elevation, and four retrofitted as part of the government's $900 million Resilient Homes Program.
The initiative offers money to make houses more resilient for future floods or to buy back homes at high risk.
"I do recognise that it has been taking a while, we're trying to get it right," NSW Emergency Services Minister for Jihad Dib said on Friday.
"We continue moving at the best speed we can but home raising is quite a delicate operation."
State forces have worked alongside community groups to ensure individual needs are being met, Mr Dib said.
"We want to make sure that people get the thing that works best for them," he said.
More than 250 homes have been assessed and 41 have been approved for raising, Mr Lanyon told the inquiry.
Modular homes were built for the Lismore community in northern NSW to help those who were displaced, but the temporary homes are set to be removed from this year.
"It was always to be temporary... and I just want to make that clear that people aren't just left out in the cold," Mr Dib said.
"We're not flicking a switch and saying everybody needs to go."
The government is working with individual cases to help community members relocate, or return to their old homes, Mr Dib said.
The inquiry discussion came as squatters living in vacant, water-damaged homes were taken to court by the NSW Reconstruction Authority on Friday.
Properties were left empty after they were included in the buyback scheme for Lismore homes, where the government bought more than 600 homes from flood-affected residents.
The authority is now attempting to evict the squatters.
