Australian Government expenditure for Tropical Cyclone Yasi Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment as at midnight 27 January 2012
- Claims granted—273,944
- Amount paid—$309,790,800
Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy as at midnight 27 January 2012
- Claims granted—5,689
- Amount paid—$8,021,655
The Prime Minister and the Attorney-General announced Commonwealth Government assistance for people in far North Queensland affected by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Yasi.
Financial assistance that was provided included:
Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy (DIRS)
The Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy (DIRS) was made available until 31 March 2011.
Ex gratia payment for New Zealanders affected by recent flooding
Ex gratia payments for New Zealanders were available until 31 July 2011.
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) was available until 3 August 2011.
Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA)
This assistance is provided through the joint Australian and State Government's Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) and applies to the natural disaster declared areas in each State.
NDRRA assistance has been made available for the following 25 local government areas: Boulia, Burdekin, Burke, Cairns, Carpentaria, Cassowary, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Croydon, Doomadgee, Etheridge, Flinders, Hinchinbrook, Isaac, Kowanyama, Mackay, Mckinlay, Mount Isa, Palm Island, Richmond, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday, Wujal Wujal and Yarrabah.
Personal hardship and distress assistance is available in the 19 local government areas of Burdekin, Burke, Cairns, Carpentaria, Cassowary, Charters Towers, Croydon, Doomadgee, Etheridge, Flinders, Hinchinbrook, Mackay, Mount Isa, Palm Island, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday, Wujal Wujal and Yarrabah.
Available personal hardship and distress assistance measures include:
- Emergency Assistance Grant (not income and assets tested) to provide assistance for immediate, unexpected needs such as temporary accommodation, food, essential clothing and medication.
Eligible applicants will receive:
- $170 for individuals
- $340 for couples
- $510 for families of three
- $680 for families of four, or
- $850 for families of five or more.
Essential Household Contents Grant (income and assets tested) is designed to provide assistance to replace household contents that have been lost or damaged in the recent natural disasters. If eligible, applicants will have departmental officers visit their home to assess the damage and to complete an application form.
Eligible applicants may receive:
- Up to $1,705 for individuals
- Up to $5,120 for couples or families, or
- The Structural Assistance Grant (income and assets tested) to provide a contribution towards repair of the residence to make it secure and safe to live in. The home must be owned by the applicant and their sole place of residence at the time of the disaster. If you are eligible, departmental officers will visit your home to assess the damage and to complete an application form with you.
Enquiries in relation to this assistance should be directed to the Queensland Department of Communities on 1800 173 349 or visit the community recovery support and assistance page.
Concessional interest rate loans of up to $250,000 for small businesses and primary producers, as well as freight subsidies of up to $5,000 for primary producers are available in the 16 local government areas of Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary, Charters Towers, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders, Hinchinbrook, Isaac, Mackay, Palm Island, Richmond, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday and Yarrabah.
Concessional interest rate loans of up to $100,000 for charitable and not-for-profit organisations are available in the 15 local government areas of Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary, Charters Towers, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders, Hinchinbrook, Mackay, Palm Island, Richmond, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday and Yarrabah.
Tier 1 clean up recovery grants of up to $5000 and Tier 2 grants of up to $20,000 for primary producers and small business are available in 10 local government areas and 6 partial local government areas. They are: Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook, Isaac, Mackay, Palm Island, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday, Yarrabah and the defined portion of Charters Towers, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders and Richmond.
Tier 1 clean up recovery grants of up to $5000 and Tier 2 grants of up to $20,000 for charitable and not for profit organisations are available in the 12 local government areas of: Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Charter Towers, Croydon, Etheridge, Hinchinbrook, Palm Island, Richmond, Tablelands, Townsville, and Yarrabah.
The 'Category C' community and recovery package was made available on 20 May 2011 for all 24 affected local government areas.
Assistance for the restoration of essential public assets is available in the 22 local government areas of Boulia, Burdekin, Burke, Cairns, Carpentaria, Cassowary, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders, Hinchinbrook, Kowanyama, Mackay, McKinlay, Palm Island, Richmond, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday, Wujal Wujal and Yarrabah and certain counter disaster operations are available in all areas.
Essential services safety and reconnection grants of up to $5,000 are available in the three local government areas of Cassowary, Hinchinbrook and Townsville.
On 16 February 2011 the acting Prime Minister and Treasurer, Queensland Premier and the Minister Assisting the Attorney-General on Queensland Floods Recovery, announced an upfront payment of $50 million to Queensland as an advance on future liabilities under the NDRRA.
The announcement also includes exceptional measures consisting of the following:
- Special concessional loans of up to $650,000 for eligible businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit organisations who have suffered extreme damage, with a grant component of up to $50,000 to assist the local government areas of Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook, Isaac, Palm Island, Tablelands, Townsville, Yarrabah and parts of Charters Towers, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders and Richmond.
- A $20 million Rural Resilience Fund, jointly funded by the Federal and Queensland Governments, to be administered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to help fund business and community support activities, such as farm clean-ups, counselling and social support measures. This is available in the local government areas of Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook, Tablelands and parts of Cairns, Charters Towers, Etheridge and Flinders.
Further to the above assistance, it was also announced that wage assistance for employers, including primary producers, equivalent to a Newstart Allowance for up to 13 weeks would be provided to help maintain the viability of businesses and the local community. This period may be extended to 26 weeks depending on the speed of the recovery.
For more information please visit the Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority website or contact 1800 623 946.
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