Flood relief triggered again in NSW: Here’s who is eligible

At this stage, 23 local government areas are eligible for flood relief. (Source: Getty)

Flood victims in 23 local government areas will be able to access disaster relief funding from the NSW and federal governments.

Heavy rain has caused flooding across swathes of Sydney and the New South Wales coast, with some regions hit by floods for the third or fourth time in 18 months.

The event has triggered the first round of Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, which is a joint state-commonwealth funding arrangement designed to help states and territories deal with the relief and recovery costs of natural disasters.

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Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said there was a range of assistance available for individuals, farmers, small businesses and other impacted groups.

New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cook said the announcement would ensure immediate assistance was available to impacted communities, including assistance for people whose homes had been lost or damaged.

Relief will also flow to affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and fixing roads.

Small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations will also be able to access concessional-interest-rate loans and freight subsidies, if applicable.

The following LGAs are eligible for support through the co-funded relief program:

• Blacktown

• Blue Mountains

• Camden

• Canterbury Bankstown

• Campbelltown

• Central Coast

• Cessnock

• Fairfield

• Georges River

• Hawkesbury

• Hornsby

• Kiama

• Lithgow

• Liverpool

• Northern Beaches

• Penrith

• Shellharbour

• Shoalhaven

• Sutherland

• The Hills

• Wingecarribee

• Wollondilly

• Wollongong.

People have been advised to visit the National Recovery and Resilience Agency’s website or the Service NSW website for more information.

Exactly how much individuals are entitled to will depend on their circumstances. However, during the last floods in NSW and Queensland, flood victims were able to access the $1,000 disaster payment from the federal government.

This is a one-off cash payment worth $1,000 for each eligible adult and $400 for each eligible child.

In previous disasters, people were able to access the Disaster Recovery Allowance - support for people who’ve lost income as a direct result of natural disasters.

Watt said the Government was working alongside the state government to get support to people rapidly while making sure the system wasn’t being exploited.

“We obviously need to make sure that if it is taxpayers money, that we're being accountable,” he said.

“We want to make sure that people aren't ripping off the system but, at the same time, it is important to get money out the door quickly.”

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