Disaster assistance available for bushfire affected communities in Balonne Shire

Balonne Shire Council and eligible residents in the bushfire hit areas of Dirranbandi and Hebel on the Queensland-New South Wales border can now access support following recent blazes.

The support, funded through the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), will help affected Queenslanders in the immediate aftermath of the fires and allow communities to bounce back faster.

Eligible impacted residents of Dirranbandi and Hebel can access financial assistance through the Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme.

This includes Emergency Hardship Assistance Grants of $180 for individuals and up to $900 for a family of five or more towards the costs of emergency food, clothing and medicine.

Balonne Shire Council, meanwhile, will be able to recoup the costs of their counter disaster operations.

Activities such as firefighting, incident management, and the establishment of evacuation centres, can all be covered under this support mechanism.

Council will also have access to assistance for the reconstruction of essential public assets damaged as a result of the bushfires.

These measures are an important step in the recovery process, putting money in the pockets of eligible residents and ensuring council can focus on their response and recovery efforts.

For more information on the Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme, contact the Queensland Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349 or visit www.qld.gov.au/disasterhelp.

Further details on disaster assistance can be found on this website, or via disasterassist.gov.au.