News

Sunday, 31st July 2022

Rental support payments for flood victims and grants for rural landholders will soon be available for all communities affected by the June-July NSW flood event with more than $23 million in relief funding from the Commonwealth and New South Wales governments.

The jointly funded package through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) includes:

• Rental Support payments for up to 16 weeks to help households secure accommodation.
• A Rural Landholder Grants program providing grants of up to $25,000 for rural landholders who are ineligible for existing grants.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said the funding package will be available to people in all 42 local government areas (LGAs) subject to a natural disaster declaration. “The rental support payments and rural landholder grants will help with the immediate costs of clean-up and repair, which is an important first step in the recovery process,” Senator Watt said.

New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the funding will flow through Service NSW and the Rural Assistance Authority. “The rental support payments covering up to 16 weeks rent will help people find safe, secure accommodation while they begin the recovery process, and the $25,000 grants will help kick-start the clean-up for the many rural landholders who’ve been affected by flooding yet again,” Ms Cooke said.

The 42 LGAs subject to a natural disaster declaration following the June-July flood event are: Bayside, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Cumberland, Dungog, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kempsey, Kiama, Lake Macquarie, Lithgow, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid Coast, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Narromine, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Oberon, Penrith, Port Macquarie Hastings, Port Stephens, Randwick, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Strathfield, Sutherland, The Hills, Upper Lachlan, Warren, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.