North Qld Personal Hardship Assistance payments available

Hardship assistance available to flooded North Queensland residents, small business disaster loans activated

• Flood affected Queenslanders can now access Personal Hardship Assistance for their disaster recovery
• Support available includes emergency payments to purchase food, clothing and medicine and also targeted grants for vulnerable residents
• Disaster assistance loans have also been activated for impacted small businesses in designated north and north-west local government areas, including low interest loans up to $250,000 to support recovery efforts and up to $100,000 to help sustain operations.

The Federal and Queensland State Governments have made Personal Hardship Assistance payments available to flood-hit residents battling the prolonged monsoon trough over north-west Queensland.

This 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, and other assistance targeting low income, uninsured residents.

LGAs include Burke, Carpentaria, Cassowary Coast, Cloncurry, Croydon, Flinders, McKinlay, Mount Isa, Palm Island, Richmond, Townsville, Winton and Yarrabah.

Additionally, eligible primary producers in Winton Shire can now access disaster loans up to $250,000 and freight subsidies up to $5,000, while Doomadgee and Etheridge Councils will be supported with their counter disaster operations and essential asset repairs.

All financial support is being funded by the Federal and State 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
• For disaster loan info and applications, small businesses and primary producers can visit www.qrida.qld.gov.au or phone 1800 623 946. 

Personal Hardship Assistance available to eligible residents:

• Emergency Hardship Assistance – $180 per person, up to $900 for a family of five or more to purchase immediate essentials like food, clothing and medicine
• Essential Services Hardship Assistance – $150 per person, up to $750 for a family of five or more to assist with immediate needs following the loss of essential services at home for more than five consecutive days
• Essential Household Contents Grants – income-tested assistance for uninsured residents, up to $1,765 for individuals and up to $5,300 for couples or families to replace destroyed essential household contents such as bed linen and whitegoods
• Structural Assistance Grants – up to $80,000 for uninsured, income-tested owner-occupiers towards the repair or replacement of a disaster damaged dwelling to return it to a safe and habitable condition
• Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme – income-tested grants to help uninsured residents reconnect damaged services like electricity, gas, water or sewerage. Up to $5,000 per household.

Disaster loans for eligible small businesses and primary producers:

• Disaster Assistance Loans – up to $250,000 to repair or replace damaged assets like plant and equipment, to repair premises or to replace stock and maintain liquidity
• Essential Working Capital Loans – up to $100,000 to allow for the continuation of operations, including paying wages, rents or rates, purchasing fuel, fodder and water, and transporting livestock and produce.

For the full list of activated LGAs and support available please visit Activations on the Queensland Reconstruction Authority website.

Source: Queensland Government