Hardship assistance available to flooded north-west Queenslanders

Flood hit residents in Flinders, Richmond and Winton can now access Personal Hardship Assistance to help their recovery from impacts caused by the North Queensland Monsoon Trough.

Support includes payments of $180 for individuals and up to $900 for a family of five or more for emergency essentials like food, clothing and medicine.

Up to $150 per person and up to $750 for a family of five or more can also be accessed by residents who have experienced the loss of one or more essential services for more than five days.

There are also three income-tested hardship assistance measures for eligible uninsured residents:

• Essential Household Contents Grants up to $1,765 for individuals and up to $5,300 for couples or families can help replace destroyed items such as bed linen and whitegoods.
• Structural Assistance Grants up to $80,000 are available for the repair or replacement of a disaster-damaged dwelling to return it to a safe and habitable condition.
• Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme support provides up to $5,000 per household to help reconnect damaged services like electricity, gas, water or sewerage.

All financial aid is funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Information on Personal Hardship Assistance, eligibility, and how to apply, can be found at www.disaster.qld.gov.au or by calling the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.

Queensland Reconstruction Authority officers have been in the north-west this week to help guide ongoing community recovery efforts following the flood disaster.

QRA continues to work closely with councils in affected areas, and the Commonwealth, to support all eligible requests for DRFA assistance.