The Australian Government helps individuals and communities recover from disasters with financial support. The type of help available depends on the impacts of the natural disaster.
We help eligible individuals with the:
-
Disaster Recovery Payment
This is a one-off, non-means tested payment of AUD1000 for eligible adults and AUD400 for eligible children affected by a major disaster either in Australia or overseas. -
Disaster Recovery Allowance
This is a short-term income support payment to help individuals who show that the disaster directly impacted their income.
We also provide financial support to state and territory governments in
joint cost sharing arrangements for clean up and recovery.
New Zealanders living in Australia
Where the Australian Government has made disaster recovery payments available, we may provide a similar payment to eligible New Zealand special category visa (subclass 444) holders residing in Australia who have been directly impacted by a major disaster.
This includes:
- the ex-gratia Disaster Recovery Allowance (ex-gratia DRA) for short term income support
- the ex-gratia Disaster Recovery Payment (ex-gratia DRP) for a one-off, non means tested payment
These payments are delivered in line with the conditions and eligibility of DRA and DRP under the Social Security Act 1991.
Learn more at
GrantConnect.
Build disaster resilience
Through the National Partnership Agreement on Natural Disaster Resilience, the Australian Government invests $26.1 million each year in disaster resilience initiatives. The state and territory governments match this amount, and this allows them flexibility to respond to local community specific risks.
The National Partnership Agreement and associated implementation plans are available on the
Ministerial Council for Federal Financial Relations website.
Contact details for state and territory agencies
