Who can get it

You must meet eligibility rules to get Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP).

To be eligible for this payment, you must be both of these:

Adversely affected means that you or an eligible child you care for must have been directly affected by the declared disaster. This includes one or more of the following:

To claim AGDRP, at the time of this disaster you must be either:

  • 16 or older
  • under 16 and get an eligible payment.

You can include any eligible child you care for at the time of this disaster in your claim.

You can only get AGDRP once for this disaster.

AGDRP for a person under 16

A person under 16 can get AGDRP in one of 2 ways.

If you’re under 16 at the time of this disaster you must get one of the following payments to make your own claim for AGDRP:

You can claim for an eligible child who’s under 16 if, on the first day you or they were affected by the declared disaster, and any of the following apply:

When you share the care of a child, only one of you can get AGDRP for the child.

What these terms mean

Principal place of residence

Your principal place of residence is the main place where you have a right or licence to live. It doesn’t include holiday homes, investment properties, temporary stays with family or friends, detention facilities or prison.

If you have more than one principal place of residence, you’ll be asked to give details of each residence.

Major damage to your principal place of residence

Your principal place of residence has experienced major damage if, for example:

  • it’s been destroyed or must be demolished
  • it’s been declared structurally unsound
  • this disaster has exposed the interior to the elements
  • sewage has gotten inside it.

Examples of major damage to the interior of your principal place of residence are:

  • flooring or furniture needs refinishing or replacing
  • electrical items such as a refrigerator or washing machine have been damaged and need replacing
  • metal has begun to rust, pit and corrode and needs replacing.

Major damage to a major asset or assets

A major asset or assets you own must be located at your principal place of residence.

Your major assets have had major damage if:

  • they have become unusable or need to be replaced
  • a water tank is damaged and needs repairing or cleaning, or the water needs to be replaced.

The asset or assets must have a combined market value of $20,000 or more. This may include buildings, vehicles, caravans, water tanks or large-scale machinery.

Serious injury

A serious injury is when a person is hurt in the disaster and admitted to hospital or would have been admitted to hospital under normal circumstances.

Contact numbers available on this page.

Emergency information line

Call this line if you’re affected by a natural disaster and need help to claim a payment.

Natural disaster payment support

Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm.

There are other ways you may want to contact us.

Page last updated: 14 January 2026.
QC 83559