Jointly funded Commonwealth-State disaster assistance is now available in six additional local government areas (LGAs) following severe weather and flooding from 27 June 2022, which continues to impact large areas of New South Wales.
Assistance has been extended to the LGAs of Bayside, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Singleton and Upper Lachlan.
This is in addition to the 23 LGAs announced on Monday, which brings the number of disaster-declared LGAs to 29.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Assistance available under the DRFA may include:
- Help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged (eligibility criteria apply);
- Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential roads and public assets;
- Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations, and
- Freight subsidies for primary producers.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, said the severe weather and flooding will continue to impact many areas of NSW with flood evacuation orders still in place.
“The flood waters may be receding in some areas, but we know there are other regions that are still at the emergency stage, where the focus will be on keeping our communities safe,” Minister Watt said.
“The Australian and New South Wales governments have worked cooperatively through this latest flood emergency and we’re now working hard together to make sure that impacted communities get the financial and other assistance they need as soon as possible.”
New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said that significant recovery support would be required to help support communities to get back on their feet.
“Declaring a natural disaster is an essential first step towards getting a range of support out the door and in the pockets of individuals, families, farmers and business owners,” Ms Cooke said.
“The scale of this flooding event is enormous and we will continue working closely with the Commonwealth to put resources into the response phase as well as the recovery and clean-up effort.”
