Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) provides one-off financial assistance to eligible Australians adversely affected by the floods in New South Wales.
The rate of AGDRP is $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child. Claims for this payment can be lodged with Services Australia for a period up to 6 months.
AGDRP is available for people who have been seriously injured, have lost their homes or whose homes have been directly damaged, whose major assets have been directly damaged or are the immediate family members of a person who has died as a direct result of the floods.
You have until 26 December 2022 to lodge a claim for AGDRP in the sixty-one (61) local government areas of: Armidale, Ballina, Bayside, Bega, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Byron, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cumberland, Dungog, Eurobodalla, Fairfield, Georges River, Glen Innes Severn, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Inner West, Kempsey, Kiama, Ku-ring-gai, Kyogle, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Lithgow, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid Coast, Mid-Western, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Macquarie Hastings, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Ryde, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Strathfield, Sutherland, Tenterfield, The Hills, Tweed, Upper Hunter, Waverley, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
For more information on eligibility, visit the Services Australia website or contact the Australian Government Information Hotline on 180 22 66 for claims assistance.
New Zealand disaster recovery payment
A grant payment is being provided to eligible New Zealand 'non-protected' special category visa (SCV) (subclass 444) holders who have been adversely affected by the floods in New South Wales.
The payment rate is $1000 per eligible adult, $1000 per partner or dependent adult and $400 per eligible child. Claims for this payment can be lodged with Services Australia for a period of 6 months.
The payment is available for SCV holders who have been seriously injured, have lost their homes or whose homes have been directly damaged, whose major assets have been directly damaged or are the immediate family members of a person who has died as a direct result of the floods.
You have until 26 December 2022 to lodge a claim for the New Zealand disaster recovery payment in the sixty-one (61) local government areas of: Armidale, Ballina, Bayside, Bega, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Byron, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cumberland, Dungog, Eurobodalla, Fairfield, Georges River, Glen Innes Severn, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Inner West, Kempsey, Kiama, Ku-ring-gai, Kyogle, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Lithgow, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid Coast, Mid-Western, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Macquarie Hastings, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Ryde, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Strathfield, Sutherland, Tenterfield, The Hills, Tweed, Upper Hunter, Waverley, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
For eligibility information, visit the Services Australia website or contact the Australian Government Information Hotline on 180 22 66 for claims assistance.
Disaster Recovery Allowance
The Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) provides income support payments to employees, primary producers and sole traders who can demonstrate they have experienced a loss of income as a direct result of the floods in New South Wales.
DRA provides fortnightly payments for up to 13 weeks up to the applicable rate of JobSeeker Payment or Youth Allowance, depending on the person's circumstances.
DRA is available to Australian residents who are 16 years and older.
DRA is not available to those already receiving another income support payment or pension such as the Age Pension, JobSeeker Payment or Service Pension.
You have until 26 December 2022 to lodge a claim for DRA in the sixty-one (61) local government areas of: Armidale, Ballina, Bayside, Bega, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Byron, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cumberland, Dungog, Eurobodalla, Fairfield, Georges River, Glen Innes Severn, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Inner West, Kempsey, Kiama, Ku-ring-gai, Kyogle, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Lithgow, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid Coast, Mid-Western, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Macquarie Hastings, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Ryde, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Strathfield, Sutherland, Tenterfield, The Hills, Tweed, Upper Hunter, Waverley, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
For eligibility information, visit the Services Australia website or contact the Australian Government Information Hotline on 180 22 66 for claims for assistance.
New Zealand disaster recovery allowance
The New Zealand disaster recovery allowance is available to eligible New Zealand 'non-protected' special category visa (SCV) (subclass 444) holders who can demonstrate they have experienced a loss of income as a direct result of the floods in New South Wales.
The disaster recovery allowance provides fortnightly payments for up to 13 weeks up to the applicable rate of JobSeeker Payment or Youth Allowance, depending on the person's circumstances.
The allowance is available to SCV holders who are 16 years and older.
You have until 26 December 2022 to lodge a claim for the New Zealand disaster recovery allowance in the sixty-one (61) local government areas of: Armidale, Ballina, Bayside, Bega, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Byron, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cumberland, Dungog, Eurobodalla, Fairfield, Georges River, Glen Innes Severn, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Inner West, Kempsey, Kiama, Ku-ring-gai, Kyogle, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Lithgow, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid Coast, Mid-Western, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Macquarie Hastings, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Ryde, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Strathfield, Sutherland, Tenterfield, The Hills, Tweed, Upper Hunter, Waverley, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
For more information on eligibility, visit the Services Australia website or contact the Australian Government Information Hotline on 180 22 66 for claims assistance.
Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements
The joint Australian, state and territory governments' Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) provide a range of financial assistance to the natural disaster-declared areas in each state or territory.
For the NSW Severe Weather and Flooding , commencing 22 February 2022, the available assistance measures include:
- Personal hardship and distress assistance
- Personal and financial counselling
- Counter disaster operations
- Restoration of essential public assets
- Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations who have suffered direct damage
- Freight subsides for primary producers.
Additional Recovery Assistance Measures
Under the DRFA, the following additional assistance measures have been activated for this disaster:
- Storm and Flood Clean-up Package: A clean-up package to assist households, businesses, primary producers and local councils affected by the floods. The clean-up covers both insured and uninsured properties and assists with the clean-up and restoration of flood damaged, priority environmental assets.
- Primary Producer Recovery Grants: Recovery grants of up to $75,000 are available for eligible primary producers to help with recovery and reinstatement activities.
- Small Business and Non-Profit Organisation Recovery Grants: Recovery grants of up to $50,000 are available for eligible small businesses and non-profit organisations to help with recovery and reinstatement activities.
- Local Government Recovery Grants: These grants will provide funding assistance to local governments to assist them in undertaking immediate recovery activities, address emerging needs and help build community resilience. Grants will be used to fund initiatives across the built, social, economic and natural environment recovery domains.
- Community Recovery Officers: This measure will provide funding directly to highly-impacted local governments to engage designated flood Community Recovery Officers to deliver community-based recovery initiatives and assist people to navigate and access recovery support.
- Temporary Housing Support Package: This measure will provide assistance to affected individuals and families to provide temporary accommodation financial support and establish temporary dwellings. This includes a Rental Support Scheme providing 16 weeks rental support for the Northern Rivers region to ensure households can secure accommodation
- Northern Rivers Modular Housing Program: This measure will provide temporary accommodation to individuals and families who have lost their homes as a results of floods.
- Back Home Grants: This measure is intended as a one-off payment for eligible applicants in suburbs within highly impacted local government areas to help pay for costs towards restoring housing to a habitable condition or replacing essential household items
- Property Assessment and Demolition Program: This measure will provide assessments of properties and undertake demolition of those found to be uninhabitable as a result of the disaster.
- Northern Rivers Industry Support Package: This support includes:
- Support for large businesses and major employers in key industries to provide immediate financial assistance in the Northern Rivers
- Grants up to $200,000 for eligible medium-sized businesses to assist with clean-up, essential repairs and replacement not covered by existing insurance
- Grants of up to $10,000 for eligible small businesses who have suffered a 40 per cent or more downturn in income to help meet operating costs.
- Rural Landholders Grant: Grants of up to $25,000 for impacted landholders, not eligible for assistance under existing support mechanisms, for clean-up activities, damages or losses beyond the vicinity of the residential dwelling
- Primary Industry Sector Support Package including:
- Critical Producer Grants to provide rapid support for recovery and rebuilding for significantly impacted primary producers, and
- Primary Industry Recovery and Resilience grants to provide targeted support for medium to longer-term projects supporting supply chain efficiencies and recovery and rebuilding efforts.
- Kangaroo Valley Road Closure Small Business Support Program: Grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses and non-profit organisations in Kangaroo Valley that suffered significant financial losses due to prolonged road closures.
- Northern Rivers Commercial Property – Return to Business Support Grant: Grants to cover repair-related costs for landlords including clean-up services, hiring equipment or building repairs.
- Regional Roads and Transport Recovery Package to support the improvement of regional roads and transport assets damaged by the floods.
- Community Infrastructure Recovery Package: This package includes support for the repair and reconstruction of community owned assets, sport infrastructure and Aboriginal community infrastructure; the repair and restoration of riparian sites and landscapes; and the construction of new flood levees.
- Housing Recovery Package: This package supports the construction of new Aboriginal Housing.
- Northern Rivers Resilient Homes Fund: This fund will enable eligible households in the Northern Rivers to raise, retrofit or have their home voluntarily bought back.
For information on available recovery assistance, visit the NSW Reconstruction Authority and Service NSW websites.
For further information on recovery arrangements, visit the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements page.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will replace passports that have been lost or damaged in declared natural disasters free of charge, visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
