The assistance measures are being provided by the Australian and New South Wales Governments through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Support includes:
• Funding for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.
• Assistance for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation or small cash payments to purchase essential items generally provided from evacuation or recovery centres.
• Grants for eligible residents to replace lost essential household items to maintain basic standard of living.
• Grants for eligible residents to undertake essential structural repairs to restore their homes to a safe and habitable condition.
• Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers, sporting and recreation clubs, and non-profit organisations to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property.
• Freight subsidies for primary producers to help transport livestock and fodder.
Acting Federal Minister for Emergency Management Catherine King said floods had caused widespread damage across NSW in a very short amount of time.
“It’s important that we act quickly to activate disaster support so affected communities can begin their clean-up and recovery,” Minister King said.
“I want to thank those who have worked hard to start the clean-up efforts so quickly and I want to assure those whose lives have been disrupted that we will support them through their recovery.”
“The NSW Government is continuing to assess the damage and fully understand the impact of this disaster, and the Australian Government stands ready to respond to any requests for assistance.”
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib acknowledged the efforts of the emergency services and volunteers.
“We are grateful to our volunteers and to our communities who have worked together to keep each other safe as these intense storms passed through NSW,” Minister Dib said.
“The SES has continued to work throughout the night to reach out to communities and I’m confident that with the work they’ve been doing, that we are being incredibly proactive.”
“Work to assess the impact of flooding across the state is being conducted as quickly as possible, with disaster declarations like these a crucial first step in unlocking assistance.”
For information relating to financial assistance, replacing lost documents, location of your nearest recovery centre and more, please contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 or visit www.nsw.gov.au
To apply for a concessional loan or primary producer grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Further information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au
