Built for irrigation, the impoundment created by the dam is called Lake Paradise.

In 2020 a report found that the roller-compacted concrete was "intrinsically incapable" of achieving the required standard for safety.

[8][9] When the Paradise Dam is full, water is released over a stepped spillway followed by a stilling basin.

[citation needed] Between 2010 and 2013, the spillway system passed four major events, thus mitigating the effects of flood in the downstream catchment including the city of Bundaberg.

[citation needed] Operation of the fishway has been limited to only those time when there are low and medium flow releases.

[8] The monitoring indicates that large bodied fish (lungfish, barramundi, mullet, bass) are not using the fishways.

A conservation group unsuccessfully challenged the lack of operation of the fishways on the Paradise Dam in court proceedings in 2008–2010.

[13] In 2020 a report found that the roller-compacted concrete was "intrinsically incapable" of achieving the required standard for safety.