Government flood support expanded

As large parts of NSW have been hit by heavy rains in the past week, the federal and state governments have extended its Disaster Recovery Payment to include an additional eight local government areas (LGA).

The grants will be available to impacted communities in the Illawarra, Western Sydney and Hawkesbury-Nepean and Hunter and Mid North Coast regions, which have suffered a significant loss as a result of the floods, including a severely damaged or destroyed home or a serious injury.

The assistance was extended to the local government areas of Bayside, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Singleton and Upper Lachlan regions, as well as the LGAs of Cumberland, Mid Coast, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Randwick and Warren.

The total number of disaster-declared LGAs for the weather event that started on 27 June 2022 is now 37.

NSW minister for emergency services and resilience Steph Cooke said the scale of this flood event requires significant recovery support and declaring a natural disaster is an "essential first step" towards getting a range of support out the door and in the pockets of individuals, families, farmers and business owners.

Eligible Australians will be able to apply for a one-off, non-means-tested payment of $1,000 per eligible adult or $400 per eligible child.

The grants have also been made available to assist employees and sole traders who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster and is payable for a maximum of 13 weeks.

Under the initiative, those eligible will receive the maximum equivalent rate of JobSeeker payments or Youth Allowance, “depending on personal circumstances”, but must be earning below the national average of $1,737.10 a week.

Federal minister for emergency management, senator Murray Watt said the severe weather and flooding continues to impact many areas of New South Wales with flood evacuation orders still in place.

“I’ve been out in impacted areas this week and it’s clear this is a widespread event, which is going to take some time to recover from,” Minister Watt said.

“As the damage continues to be assessed, the New South Wales and Australian governments are working to quickly and efficiently provide access to financial and other assistance.”

Support claims pouring in

Upon visiting Services Australia Liverpool over the weekend, Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, said almost 415,000 people had been affected by the severe storms and flooding in NSW.

Mr Shorten said $340 million in government assistance had gone to impacted communities so far with staff continuing to process claims.

“The fact these payments have been delivered in under three days is a great credit to Services Australia staff working around the clock to get the payments out the door,” Mr Shorten said.

“The commitment to help out their fellow Australians is tangible – they have been working tirelessly since Thursday to ensure claims are processed as quickly as possible.

“This extraordinary flow of much needed financial support demonstrates that Australians can rely on the Government in times of great crisis.”

Services Australia has support staff on the ground helping people at recovery centres/assistance points at Camden in south-west Sydney, Mardi on the Central Coast, and Wisemans Ferry in the Hawkesbury region.

Lenders roll out support

Meanwhile, ANZ, CBA, Westpac and NAB have also rolled out support such as waived fees, short-term payment reliefs, and loan deferrals in some cases.

NAB had also announced it would provide $1,000 grants and additional financial relief to customers and colleagues affected by the latest flooding event in NSW.

The grants will give NAB customers who have suffered “significant damage to their home”, farm or business, access to funds to assist with emergency expenses.

With some communities hit up to four times, NAB’s group executive personal banking Rachel Slade said the grants come in addition to previously annouced loan payment deferrals and waived fees.

“To all the families, communities and businesses who have again suffered damage to their homes, farms and premises, we are here to help you through this,” Ms Slade said.

[Related: Home loan support offered to NSW flood victims]