What financial assistance is available for people affected by the devastating Queensland and NSW floods?

If you have been affected by the flood crisis in South East Queensland or northern New South Wales, what kind of financial assistance might be available to you?

The past few days have seen South East Queensland and northern NSW battered by heavy rains, with floods reaching unprecedented levels in many areas. Currently, 40,000 people are subject to evacuation orders in NSW, and 20,000 in Queensland, with parts of both states still inundated by floodwaters.

The city of Gympie, north of Brisbane, has seen the worst flooding in more than a century, with the Mary River peaking at 22.8 metres on Sunday morning, and an estimated 1,000 properties in the area submerged in flood waters. Flood waters in the NSW city of Lismore peaked at 14.4 metres on Monday, in a devastating event that has been labelled as “unprecedented.”

If your property in either state has been damaged or destroyed by the floods, or you have been forced to evacuate from a flood zone, there are various ways you can obtain financial assistance via state and Commonwealth schemes, and also through insurance. We outline some of these below.

What Commonwealth assistance is available for people affected by the floods?

The Federal Government has announced that residents in 26 local government areas across Queensland and New South Wales are now eligible to apply for financial support through Services Australia. This includes affected Queensland residents in the local government areas of:

• Brisbane
• Bundaberg
• Fraser Coast
• Gladstone
• Gold Coast
• Goondiwindi
• Gympie
• Ipswich
• Lockyer Valley
• Logan
• Moreton Bay
• Noosa
• North Burnett
• Redland
• Scenic Rim
• Somerset
• South Burnett
• Southern Downs
• Sunshine Coast
• Toowoomba
• Western Downs.

Financial support has also been activated for the Northern New South Wales local government areas of:

• Armidale
• Ballina
• Bellingen
• Byron
• Clarence Valley
• Coffs Harbour
• Glen Innes Severn
• Hornsby
• Kempsey
• Kyogle
• Lismore
• Nambucca
• Port Macquarie/Hastings
• Richmond Valley
• Tenterfield
• The Hills
• Tweed.

The government has activated the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child to support people impacted by the floods in each of these local government areas.

The ADGRP is a one-off, non-means tested payment that is available to eligible people in those affected local government areas who have suffered a significant loss, including a severely damaged or destroyed home or serious injury.

The Federal Government says that the Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) will also be provided into the 26 affected local government areas.

The DRA assists employees, small business persons and farmers who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster. This allowance provides for a maximum of 13 weeks’ payment from the date you have or will have a loss of income as a direct result of a disaster. The DRA payment is set at the maximum equivalent rate of Jobseeker Payment or Youth Allowance, depending on your personal circumstances, and is taxable.

Residents in affected areas can claim support online via myGov, or by calling Services Australia on 180 22 66.

What Queensland government assistance is available for people affected by the floods?

The Queensland Government is currently offering Emergency Hardship Assistance Grants to support flood-affected communities around the state. Grants of up to $180 per person, to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more, are available to eligible people experiencing financial hardship as a result of the floods.

The grants are available for people in the local government areas of:

• Brisbane
• Gympie
• Ipswich
• Lockyer Valley
• Logan
• Moreton Bay
• Noosa
• North Burnett (Dallarnil)
• Somerset

For more information on Emergency Hardship Assistance, Queensland residents can contact the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349, or visit the Queensland Government’s Community Recovery Portal.

A number of other joint state and federally-funded grants are also available for Queensland residents affected by the floods. These include:

• Essential Household Contents Grants: Grants of up to $1,765 are available for eligible single adults and up to $5,300 for eligible couples and families who are uninsured or unable to claim insurance, to provide a contribution towards repairing and replacing essential household contents such as beds, linen and whitegoods that have been lost or damaged in a disaster.
• Structural Assistance Grants: Grants of up to $10,995 are available for eligible single adults and up to $14,685 for eligible couples and families who are uninsured or unable to claim insurance, and need to pay for repairs to a home to make it safe and secure.
• Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Grants: If you’re uninsured, or unable to claim insurance, you may be eligible for a grant to help you reconnect essential services that were damaged by a disaster. These grants comprise two parts: up to $200 for a safety inspection for each essential service needing reconnection (electricity, gas, water and sewerage or septic system) and up to $4,200 towards repair work to enable essential services to be reconnected (for example, electrical rewiring).

For more information on each of the above grants, including eligibility criteria, Queensland residents can contact the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349, or visit the Queensland Government’s Community Recovery Portal.

What NSW government assistance is available for people affected by the floods?

NSW residents affected by recent severe storms and flooding may be eligible for a state government Disaster Relief Grant. According to the NSW Government, you may be eligible for financial support if all of the following apply:

• 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, and
• it has been less than four months since the disaster.

You may not be eligible if either of the following apply:

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

To apply for this payment, call 13 77 88 and ask about the Disaster Relief Grant administered by Resilience NSW.

The NSW Government is also offering disaster recovery assistance payments for businesses in eligible local government areas that have been affected by storms and floods, and a variety of grants and loans may be available for people affected by natural disasters.

If you have a small business or not-for-profit organisation that was directly impacted by the NSW storms and floods from from 9 November 2021 onwards, you may be eligible for a storm and flood disaster recovery small business grant.

What other government assistance is available for disaster victims?

Aside from the Disaster Recovery Payment, Services Australia has a list of other types of payments that are available for people affected by natural disasters, including:

• income support payments or special benefits for eligible people
• additional child care subsidies for temporary financial hardship
• carer adjustment payments for children under seven who suffer a serious illness or disability because of a catastrophic event.

Good Shepherd offers No Interest Loans (NILs) to people in financial hardship.

What assistance are banks offering to people affected by the floods?

Australia’s big four banks are all offering assistance to people affected by the floods in Queensland and northern New South Wales, with some providing cash grants to affected customers and others offering short-term payment relief.

National Australia Bank (NAB)

NAB is offering $1,000 grants to customers in Queensland who have been directly affected by the floods. Current support available includes:

• immediate access to $1,000 grants to help cover costs such as temporary accommodation, food and clothing (eligibility criteria apply)
• $1,000 business grants to help restart or reopen and cover the cost of damaged property, equipment, fencing – and for loss of stock or livestock. NAB business and agribusiness customers wishing to access the grants should call NAB’s dedicated team on 1300 769 650
• support and counselling through NAB’s Employee Assistance Program.

This support is in addition to NAB’s previously announced disaster relief package, providing a range of financial relief measures for Queensland customers.

NAB is also offering $1,000 grants and other financial relief to customers in northern New South Wales who have been affected by the floods and need funds to cover immediate needs in the aftermath of the crisis.

Customers in Queensland or New South Wales who have suffered damage to their homes and need assistance can call NAB Assist on 1300 308 132.

Commonwealth Bank (CommBank)

CommBank is offering Emergency Assistance support to people affected by the floods. They say that this support can include loan restructuring and waiving of selected fees and charges. Personal banking customers can call CommBank on 1800 314 695 or visit any branch, while business banking customers can call on 1800 314 695 or speak to their CommBank relationship manager to discuss further.

CommBank has also kicked off its CanGive Flood Appeal, pledging an initial $500,000 to customers in flood affected areas. Donations can be made via the CommBank app, and the bank has pledged to match donations up to $500,000.

ANZ Bank

ANZ has announced a financial relief package for customers affected by flooding across south east Queensland and northern New South Wales. ANZ customers will have access to a variety of financial relief measures, including:

• short-term payment relief on home loans, credit cards, personal loans and some business loans (the bank says it may still charge interest during this period)
• waiving fees for restructuring business loans
• waiving fees for accessing term deposits early.

ANZ customers affected by flooding are encouraged to contact the bank’s dedicated financial hardship team on 1800 149 549 or visit their website for natural disaster support.

Westpac

Westpac is offering emergency financial assistance to customers in Queensland and northern New South Wales who have been affected by the floods. The bank says customers in these areas may be eligible for its disaster relief package, with home loan and credit card customers given the option to defer payments, amongst other measures.

Customers can call 1800 067 497 to find out about the bank’s emergency financial assistance package. Customers can also apply online for financial hardship assistance. Westpac customers who are suffering hardship as a result of disasters are encouraged to contact Westpac Assist.

Does home and contents insurance cover flooding?

Today alone, insurers have received almost 31,000 claims relating to the ongoing flood emergency in Queensland and the New South Wales coast, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).

Whether or not and to what extent your home is covered for flood damage will depend on your insurance provider, and the exclusions of your building-only or home and contents insurance policy. While flood cover is included in many policies, this is not always the case, and with some providers you may have to add it for an additional premium.

It is also important to understand that different insurance providers use different terms to explain what they will and won’t cover in relation to floods. For example, a recent survey^ of policies on Canstar’s database found that almost 90% included cover for flash flooding due to heavy rain as standard, with 11% including this as optional.

Likewise, over 80% included cover for flooding from a natural water course such as a river or creek as standard, while just over 17% included this as optional, with the same applying for flooding due to release from a catchment area such as a dam.

It is important to note, though, that just over 30% of policies on our database included cover for flooding due to a storm surge as standard, with none offering this as optional cover. No policies on our database offered cover for floods due to a rise in seawater or tidal flooding.

In general terms, home and contents insurance can be complex when damage to your home and the things inside it is caused by heavy rains or flash flooding of rivers, creeks or drains. Insurance providers will generally want to pinpoint the source of the water, and if the damage occurred after a storm, they may well ask how soon after the storm the flooding occurred.

If you’re unsure about what your home insurance policy covers in relation to flooding, check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) for the details, or contact your provider as soon as you can to find out about what you’re covered for.

If you are renting or living in an apartment, then contents insurance may cover damage to your possessions, if you have it.

What should you do if you need to make an insurance claim?

Canstar finance expert Effie Zahos says that insurers right now are receiving a high volume of calls in relation to the flood crisis in Queensland and parts of NSW, and that before you call, there are a number of things to be aware of. Her advice is to:

• take pictures of the damage to your home and contents, if possible
• keep samples of damaged materials for insurance assessment purposes, if possible
• ask your insurer about any benefits your policy may have such as temporary accommodation, and
• ask your insurer if your policy allows for advance payments, as some will offer this.

You can also call the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) hotline on 1300 728 228 if you have concerns over your policy or are not happy with the benefits that have been offered.

^ Source: www.canstar.com.au – 14/01/2022. Based on home and contents insurance policies on Canstar’s database. Some policy details may have changed since this date – check with your provider. Not all policies are available in all states and territories.

Cover image source: Alex Cimbal/Shutterstock.com