Emergency grants and payments for people affected by floods

July 2022 Disaster Recovery Payment and Allowance

Payments are available from the Australian Government to people in NSW affected by the June and July 2022 storms and floods.

Determine your eligibility and apply for the payment that fits your circumstances through the links below.

• Disaster Recovery Payment – $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child if your home has been severely damaged or destroyed, or you've been seriously injured.
• Disaster Recovery Allowance – short-term income assistance (up to 13 weeks) if you've lost income as a direct result of the floods.
• New Zealand Disaster Recovery Payment – support for New Zealanders living in areas adversely affected by the floods.
• New Zealand Disaster Recovery Allowance – support for New Zealanders who have lost income as a result of the floods.

Disaster Relief Grant

If your home or essential household items have been damaged in February and March 2022 storms and floods or the June and  July 2022 storms and floods, you may be eligible for a Disaster Relief Grant.

The financial assistance is provided to help people to recover from the effects of a disaster and re-establish a basic standard of living. It does not replace insurance or compensate for losses.

You may be eligible for this grant if:  

• your home (primary place of residence) was damaged by a natural disaster 
• you do not have insurance for the damage
• you are a low-income earner with limited financial resources
• it has been less than 6 months since the disaster.

You may not be eligible if:

• lack of maintenance has caused or impacted the damage, such as poor roof maintenance
• the damage is cosmetic and not essential to living in a safe and habitable home.

Download the Disaster Relief Grant for individuals fact sheet (PDF 84.8KB). For help applying, visit a recovery centre or call Service NSW on 13 77 88.

Apply for the Disaster Relief Grant

Back Home Grant

The grant is for property owners and tenants affected by the February and March 2022 storms and floods or the June and  July 2022 storms and floods.

It helps owners of, or a tenant that lives in a damaged property located in the following local government areas (AGRN 1025):

• Blacktown, Camden, Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid Coast, Penrith, Port Stephens, Singleton, Sutherland, The Hills, Wollongong and
• includes the entirety of any suburb partly within these LGAs and partly within another LGA.

This grant is for people who:

• are unable to claim on insurance
• are not eligible for other natural disaster relief.

The funds can go towards any clean-up costs to restore housing to a habitable condition. 

The grant provides owners/occupiers up to $20,000, tenants up to $5,000 and owner/investors up to $15,000.

Residents of multiple tenancies can apply, as can residents living permanently in:

• caravan parks
• retirement villages
• houses
• granny flats
• apartments.

Low-income earners who are successful in their application for the Disaster Relief Grant are unable to apply for the Back Home Grant.

If you don’t qualify for the Disaster Relief Grant, you can apply for the Back Home Grant.

If you received a payment for damages caused by the February and March 2022 storms and floods, you may be eligible for a second payment for additional damages from the June and July 2022 storms and floods.

Download the June and July 2022 Flood Recovery Back Home Grant fact sheet (PDF, 81KB) (PDF 81.41KB) For help applying, visit a recovery centre or call Service NSW on 13 77 88.

Rental Support Payment

The grant is for  people affected by the February and March 2022 storms and floods or the June and July 2022 storms and floods.

If you were affected by floods or storms in a defined disaster area (AGRN 1025) and needed short-term accommodation, you can apply for the Rental Support Payment.

The payment can go towards short-term accommodation bookings ​​​made on or after 27 June 2022.

It provides up to 16 weeks' rental support. The amount available to you depends on the number of people in your household, including children:

• 1-person household – $6,000
• 2-person household – $7,200
• 3-person household – $9,200
• 4-person household – $12,400
• 5-person household – $15,200
• 6-person household – $18,000.

If you have more than 6 people in your household, the payment will increase by $2,800 for each additional person.  ​​​​​

For you to be eligible for the payment:

• the property must be your primary residence
• you must be a NSW resident older than 18, and
• you are unable to claim temporary accommodation costs under an insurance policy, or insurance does not cover the full length of accommodation needs.

Download the June and July 2022 Flood recovery rental support payment fact sheet (PDF, 99KB) (PDF 99.08KB). For help applying, visit a recovery centre or call Service NSW on 13 77 88.

Apply for the Rental Support Payment

Flood Property Assessment Program

The Flood Property Assessment Program offers free structural assessments, demolition and waste removal for properties damaged by floods.

The program is open to insured and uninsured property owners affected by the February and March 2022 storms and floods or the June and July 2022 storms and floods.

The program covers properties used for either residential, small business or primary production purposes in disaster-declared areas.  

For further information visit Flood Property Assessment Program.

Northern Rivers council rate relief

The NSW Government is providing one-off council rates relief for the 2022–23 financial year for eligible ratepayers in the flood-impacted Northern Rivers region whose properties were directly impacted by the February and March 2022 storms and floods.

To be eligible for rate relief, your residential, commercial or farm property must be located in one of the 7 highly impacted Northern Rivers local government areas.

Your property must also have been:

• assessed by the State Emergency Service and deemed damaged or destroyed by the February and March 2022 floods, or
• approved for one of the following grants or support programs for the February and March 2022 storms and floods:
• Back Home Grant
• Flood Property Assessment Program
• Rental Support Payment, as an owner
• February and March 2022 storm and flood disaster small business grant
• Northern Rivers medium size business grant.

You do not need to apply for this council rates relief. Service NSW will make the rates payment directly to your local council on your behalf.

More information on Northern Rivers council rate relief

Back Home Grant

The grant helps owners of, or a tenant that lives in (or lived in at the time of the February and March 2022 storms and floods), a damaged property located in the following local government areas (AGRN 1012):

• Armidale, Ballina, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Byron, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Glen Innes Severn, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kyogle, Lismore, Lithgow, Penrith, Richmond Valley, Singleton, Tenterfield, The Hills, Tweed and
• includes the entirety of any suburb partly within these LGAs and partly within another LGA.

This grant is for people who:

• are unable to claim on insurance
• are not eligible for other natural disaster relief.

Residents of multiple tenancies can apply, as can residents living permanently in:

• caravan parks
• retirement villages
• houses
• granny flats
• apartments.

The funds can go towards any clean-up costs to restore housing to a habitable condition.

The grant can provide owners/occupiers up to $20,000, tenants up to $5,000 and owner/investors up to $15,000.

Low-income earners who are successful in their application for the Disaster Relief Grant are unable to apply for the Back Home Grant.

Download the February and March 2022 Flood Recovery Back Home Grant fact sheet (PDF, 83KB) (PDF 81.73KB). For help applying, visit a recovery centre or call Service NSW on 13 77 88.

February 2022 Disaster Recovery payment

The following payments are available to people in NSW affected by the floods from February 2022 and onwards: 

• Disaster Recovery Payment – $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child if your home has been severely damaged or destroyed, or you've been seriously injured.
• Disaster Recovery Allowance – short-term income assistance (up to 13 weeks) if you've lost income as a direct result of the floods.
• New Zealand Disaster Recovery Payment – support for New Zealanders living in areas adversely affected by the floods.
• New Zealand Disaster Recovery Allowance – support for New Zealanders who have lost income as a result of the floods.

There are additional Disaster Recovery Payments of up to $2,000 for residents of Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Tweed. 

This additional payment is automatically approved for those who have already claimed and received the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment.

Find out more information and apply on Services Australia's NSW Floods, February 2022 page.

Rental Support Payment

If you were affected by the February and March  2022 storms and floods and needed short-term accommodation support, you can apply for the Rental Support Payment.

The payment helps NSW residents in highly impacted suburbs pay for short-term accommodation bookings that:

• were made on or after 22 February 2022
• are for 14 nights or more.

It provides up to 16 weeks' rental support. The amount available to you depends on the number of people in your household, including children:

• 1-person household – $6,000
• 2-person household – $7,200
• 3-person household – $9,200
• 4-person household – $12,400
• 5-person household – $15,200
• 6-person household – $18,000.

If you have more than 6 people in your household, the payment will increase by $2,800 for each additional person.  ​​​​​

For you to be eligible for the payment:

• the property must be your primary residence
• you must be a NSW resident older than 18, and
• you are unable to claim temporary accommodation costs under an insurance policy, or insurance does not cover the full length of accommodation needs.

Download the February and March 2022 Flood recovery rental support payment fact sheet (PDF, 119KB) (PDF 119.23KB). For help applying, visit a recovery centre or call Service NSW on 13 77 88.

Apply for the Rental Support Payment

Flood Property Assessment Program

The Flood Property Assessment Program is open to insured and uninsured property owners in disaster-declared areas after the February and March 2022 storms and floods.

It offers free structural assessments, demolition and waste removal for properties damaged by floods.

For further information visit Flood Property Assessment Program.

To receive funds of between $15,000 to $50,000, you will need to submit evidence of payment of the relevant costs at the time of application.

Receiving some grants or loans can make you ineligible for others.

You may also not be eligible if your costs can be covered another way, such as by your insurance. So, it’s important to document your circumstances and get tailored advice about what’s best for your business.

To check your eligibility, use the Disaster Assistance Finder. You can also call Service NSW for information and support on 13 77 88.

Find more information on Australian Government-funded grants on Special Disaster Assistance Guidelines (PDF, 523KB).

Get free legal advice with Legal Aid. Call 1800 801 529, from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

Be wary of contact from unknown people pretending to be from the Australian Tax Office or Services Australia who offer to help you apply for grants or release your superannuation.

Be wary of people who contact you about helping you access government financial support.

Do not provide any of your personal or financial information.

Do not click on suspicious links that are sent to your phone or any other device.

To speak to someone you can trust, call Service NSW on 13 77 88, or visit your local recovery centre.