Disaster Assist
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The Commonwealth Government is providing a range of assistance measures for those Australians adversely affected by the floods in North Western Queensland.
The Commonwealth Government is providing employees, small business persons or farmers who have lost their income as a direct result of the floods an ex-gratia income recovery subsidy that is equivalent up to the maximum rate of Newstart allowance. This assistance will be offered for an initial period of 13 weeks.
The Income Recovery Subsidy is available to Australian residents over 16 years of age, who have experienced a loss on income as a direct result of the North Western Queensland Floods. The subsidy will compliment the range of services, payments and assistance already available.
For more information on eligibility or if you have any queries, please visit the Centrelink website or contact the Australian Government North Queensland Floods Hotline on 180 2222.
Job seekers who volunteer to help with clean up and recovery efforts or who live in locations where job opportunities have effectively been destroyed, will be shown leniency and will not be asked to look for work for an initial period of 13 weeks.
Job seekers who have been personally impacted by the disaster (including but not limited to damage to housing) will also be subject to a waiver of compliance obligations for a period.
For more information on eligibility or if you have any queries, please visit the Centrelink website or contact the Australian Government North Queensland Floods Hotline on 180 2222.
Under the standard Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA), assistance is being provided to those affected by the floods. Under these arrangements the Commonwealth will provide reimbursement to the Queensland Government for a range of eligible measures to assist communities affected by this disaster.
Individuals may be eligible for assistance such as grants for food, clothing, accommodation, and emergency housing repairs.
Local Governments may access assistance with expenditure on public infrastructure restoration.
Fodder drops worth up to $3 million are being provided under special Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) agreed between Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.
For further information on other assistance available such as personal hardship, contact the Smart Service Queensland Hotline on 1800 173 349.
The Tax Office has established a dedicated Emergency Support Info Line (1300 304 975) to help people and businesses affected by the floods. A number of measures have been put in place to ease the burden on people suffering personal and financial loss at this time, including:
The Tax Office can also help by:
For more information, including extension dates, call the Emergency Support Info Line 1300 304 975 or visit the Australian Taxation Office website.
The Commonwealth Government recently announced an additional $80.4 million over 2.3 years in emergency relief funding to help vulnerable individuals and families struggling financially as a result of the global economic crisis. Of this, $2 million has been provided to Emergency Relief agencies across Queensland. In response to the Queensland floods, the Government also provided an additional $2 million of funding to Emergency Relief agencies in flood affected areas to assist impacted individuals and families.
The Queensland Government will have the ability to draw on their share of Commonwealth Government’s $6.4 billion Social Housing Fund which was announced as part of the Nation Building and Jobs Plan. This was set up to respond to social housing need in disaster affected areas.
The Commonwealth Government will provide councils in the natural disaster affected areas of North Queensland with the opportunity to reprioritise their projects under the Government’s $250 million Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. This will enable councils to better meet the need of locals affected by these natural disasters.
All Queensland councils, including those affected by the current emergency, will have their local government Financial Assistance Grants brought forward from 15 May 2009 to 23 February 2009.
In addition, the Commonwealth Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government will consult with affected councils and communities in Queensland to determine options for addressing strategies for dealing with the immediate and long term needs of their communities.
The Queensland Government will be able to draw on its share of funding under the Commonwealth Government’s $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution Program. This will enable the Queensland Government to give priority to the construction of school infrastructure in communities affected by floods.