Disaster Assistance for Flood-Impacted Far North Queenslanders

Joint with:

Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

Bill Shorten MP

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Minister for Government Services

Senator Murray Watt

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Minister for Emergency Management

Senator Nita Green

Senator for Queensland

The Albanese Government is delivering additional financial support for people directly impacted by the devastating floods in Far North Queensland.

From 2pm AEST, Wednesday 20 December, applications for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) will open for people who live and work in the Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Cook, Douglas, Hope Vale, Mareeba, Tablelands, Wujal Wujal and Yarrabah Local Government Areas (LGAs):

  • The AGDRP is a one-off payment of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child who have suffered a significant loss as a result of the floods, including a severely damaged or destroyed home or a serious injury.
  • The DRA provides up to 13 weeks of federal income support to assist eligible employees or sole traders who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster.

Equivalent financial assistance is available to eligible New Zealand citizens holding ‘non-protected Special Category’ and ‘subclass 444’ visas.

People will soon be able to check their eligibility and how to claim on the Services Australia website.

The easiest way for people to claim is online through myGov.

/Public Release. View in full here.