Advice if your home is lost or damaged in a flood

Accommodation is available to people affected by floods. $350 million has been allocated by the NSW Government for temporary modular housing, to be installed across hard-hit regions of NSW.

You can access this by visiting a flood recovery and evacuation centre or by calling Service NSW on 13 77 88. 

More than a thousand flood-affected people have been accommodated in hotels and motels. The focus now is to help people to move out of emergency accommodation and find a more permanent place to call home.

Types of accommodation available include:

• housing pods
• mobile motor homes
• recreation camps and caravan parks with accommodation.

Temporary housing in the Northern Rivers region 

Temporary housing sites provide a safe and secure home while people affected by floods begin their recovery. These sites are being established by the NSW Government, in partnership with councils and local community groups. 

Find out more about the site locations on Temporary housing for flood-affected Northern Rivers region.

Flood recovery rental support payment

If your home is uninhabitable you can now apply for the flood recovery rental support payment which includes up to 16 weeks' rental support in temporary accommodation. The payment is scalable based on the number of people per household, including children. 

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment also has further information on temporary accommodation on their Disaster recovery pages.

Natural disasters, cleaning up and recovery can take a toll on your mental and physical health. Don't hesitate – support is available to help you look after your own and your loved ones' wellbeing. 

Call Service NSW on 13 77 88 to be connected to services and support, including emergency accommodation, financial assistance, insurance advice or help replacing lost identification. 

Mental health support is available. Call the 24-hour NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or find mental health services in your area. 

All flood-impacted households and businesses will receive clean-up assistance – including the removal of debris, mud and green waste – regardless of insurance status. Discover who can help you clean up and how to stay safe during clean up. 

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) guide Your next steps toward recovery from floods and storms (PDF, 10.6MB) offers practical tips and advice to returning home after a flood. 

As soon as it is safe to do so take photos of the damage to your home or premises. The contents of your home – furniture, clothes, appliances and so on – may be covered by home contents insurance if you have a policy. Read emergency insurance and legal support for more information.

Tenants should notify their landlord or managing agent of damage to the property, who should attend to these repairs as soon as possible. Read tenants and landlords advice in floods for more information.

Read more about replacing identification and personal documents in an emergency.

Planning rules have been made easier and new planning initiatives introduced to support families, businesses and communities across the state to rebuild and recover from these floods. 

Read more about repairing and rebuilding properties in NSW after floods.