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Financial help
Disaster payments
The Australian Government and state and territory governments work together to provide help to people affected by a declared natural disaster. Read about natural disaster support.
The Department of Home Affairs has information on support for declared natural disasters on their Disaster Assist website.
Income support payments
You may be able to get an income support payment. The type of payment you may get depends on your situation. Find out if you’re eligible to get a Centrelink payment.
If you already get an income support payment, you may be able to get an advance lump sum payment.
If you live and work in a rural, regional or remote area, you may be eligible for financial support. Find out about support you can get when you’re living in a rural or remote area.
If you’re an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian, you can find out about payments and support for Indigenous Australians. You can also call the Centrelink Indigenous Call Centre to talk about your Centrelink payments and services.
Financial hardship payments
If you’re in financial hardship, there is support available that may help.
You may be able to access extra support with the cost of child care if you’re affected by an emergency. This includes any of the following:
- getting Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS)
- getting extra CCS absences
- having your gap fee waived.
You may be eligible to get Additional Child Care Subsidy Temporary Financial Hardship. It’s short-term help with the cost of approved child care if you’re in financial hardship due to events outside your control. This includes when a major disaster event has adversely affected your family.
Carer Adjustment Payment is a one-off payment if your child under 7 gets a severe illness or major disability. The illness or disability must be because of a catastrophic event.
Crisis Payment may help if you’ve had to change where you live due to unforeseen extreme circumstances. This includes flood, fire or community violence. To get this payment, you must be eligible for or getting an income support payment or ABSTUDY Living Allowance.
If you aren’t eligible for other payments, find out if you or a child is eligible for Special Benefit. You can only get this Special Benefit if you can’t get any other income support payment or benefit from us.
We also have tips and information to help you manage your money during difficult times in your life.
Other help
If your income has been reduced because of a natural disaster event, you may be eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card. This can help you pay for some health care services.
If you have a Centrelink debt, you can pause or change your repayments for up to 3 months. In some situations, we may be able to waive it if there are special circumstances. Find out about the disaster events where you have flexible debt repayment choices.
Your mutual obligation requirements may be paused or you can replace a lost card if you’ve been affected by a disaster. Find out how to manage my current payment or card.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) also has help available. Read more about support after a natural disaster on the ATO website.
If you’re in severe financial hardship, you can get an early release of superannuation to help with unpaid expenses. You can apply based on compassionate grounds with your super fund.
Living arrangements
If you’re experiencing homelessness, there’s financial, housing and mental health support available.
Family and domestic violence support
If you’re experiencing family and domestic violence, we can help you access our payments and connect you to other support services.
Social work services
A disaster can have a physical and emotional impact on you and your family. We have social workers who can help if you need to talk to someone for support.
Find out more about our social work services and how to speak with a social worker.
Mental health support
Experiencing a natural disaster can be stressful and affect your mental health. There are resources to help during this difficult time.
Medicare Mental Health Centres provide a welcoming space for anyone to access free and confidential mental health, social and emotional wellbeing support. The service is free and no referral or appointment is needed.
The ABC website has a series you can listen to about recovering after a disaster.
Lifeline is open to all Australians in personal crisis. They have resources for recovering after a natural disaster on the Lifeline website.
headspace is the national youth mental health foundation. They have information on their website for young people about coping with the stress of a natural disaster, including tips for the short and long term.
To talk to someone, you can call any of the following hotlines:
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
- Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
We can help you with the costs of some mental health treatments. Read more about mental health care and Medicare.
Help with health care
If you’re experiencing health issues you may be able to get support with the cost of health care. Read more about how to enrol in Medicare, and what’s covered by Medicare.
You may also be able to get additional help with out of pocket health costs if you’re affected by an act of terrorism or natural disaster. Read about the Disaster Health Care Assistance Scheme.
Help to recover
There are government services and support available to help you recover.
The myGov website has information about replacing your identity documents after a natural disaster. This includes your driver licence or passport.
The Moneysmart website has information about recovering financially after a natural disaster.
Talk to your bank about your mortgage repayments and fees. They might be able to help if you’ve experienced a natural disaster.
If you’re recovering from a disaster, the Australian Red Cross website has resources that can help.