Disaster Legal Helpline
Disaster Legal Helpline
Last updated: November 2020
The Commonwealth and Victorian Governments occasionally provide limited one-off financial help to people who suffered loss as a result of declared natural, environmental or other disasters. This page provides links to relevant schemes run by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments for people based in Victoria.
The Commonwealth Government’s Disaster Recovery Allowance assists people who have been adversely affected by natural disasters in various local government areas.
More information about help in an emergency is available on the Commonwealth's Department of Human Services website.
You may be able to apply for an immediate income support payment. This is available even if you are not already receiving a Centrelink benefit. The type of payment or assistance that you may be able to receive will depend on your circumstances. Examples include:
Advance lump-sum payment for people on benefits
You may receive part of your income support payment or Family Tax Benefit (Part A) early. This is an advance payment of your existing entitlement, and not an extra payment. To assess your eligibility for an advance payment, visit the Services Australia website.
Crisis payment, for people on benefits
This is a one-off payment. To be eligible to receive this payment you must be:
Use the Commonwealth Government's Payment and Service finder to check if you are eligible.
Special benefit
To receive this payment you must be:
If you are not eligible for any other income support, please read the rules to see if you can receive the Special Benefit.
Carer adjustment payment
This is a one-off payment if your child under 7 years of age contracts a severe illness or has a major disability.
To receive this one off payment you must:
For more information on the time limit to apply and examples of Catastrophic events, visit the Time limit to apply and Catastrophic events page.
Additional Child Care Subsidy Temporary Financial Hardship
To be eligible for this temporary subsidy, you must:
You can find out about the Temporary financial hardship events on the Commonwealth Website.
Pension loan schemes
This scheme allows older Australians to receive a voluntary non-taxable fortnightly loan from the Commonwealth. You and your partner may use this to supplement your retirement income.
You must meet all of the following criteria:
Early release of your superannuation
You can obtain an early release of your super to help with unpaid expenses. You can apply based on compassionate grounds from the Australian Taxation Office. If you are in severe financial hardship, you can make an application to your super fund.
For more information, call the Commonwealth Department of Human Services:
The Commonwealth Government has a range of services to help you in a crisis.
The Commonwealth Government's social workers provide short-term counselling, support and can refer you to other services.
The Commonwealth Government's Community Engagement Officers help you access payments and services if you find it hard to access them.
You can use Centrepay to pay bills and expenses as regular deductions from your Centrelink payments. This can make it easy for you to budget.
The Financial Information Service (FIS) can help you when you need to make decisions about your current and future financial needs. To speak to the FIS, call on 132 300 or to find out more, visit the Commonwealth Website.
The Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services website has information on how it can give financial crisis support to you and your family if you are caught in a major emergency – such as a bushfire, severe storm, flood or earthquake.
Personal Hardship Assistance Program
In the aftermath of an emergency, you and your household might be eligible for emergency funds from the Personal Hardship Assistance Program run by Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHS).
The Personal Hardship Assistance Program offers two different types of funds: emergency relief assistance, and emergency re-establishment assistance. If you qualify, you could receive money from either or both of these schemes, depending on your situation.
Emergency Relief Assistance
The Department of Health and Human Services can provide you with a one-off emergency relief payment after a house fire or any other natural emergency, provided that you and your needs meet eligibility requirements. This payment is provided to help meet immediate needs, including emergency food, shelter, clothing, medication and accommodation.
Emergency relief payments are paid to recipients using prepaid debit cards. To read more about what the card can be used for, please visit the Victorian State Government Website.
In order to be able to receive emergency relief assistance, you must discuss your circumstances with a Department of Health and Human Services officer – usually within seven days of the emergency. Please call on 1300 650 172 (local calls free within Victoria, except mobile phones).
Emergency Re-establishment Assistance
You can apply for Emergency Re-establishment Assistance if your main residence has been destroyed or has been so badly damaged that you can’t live in it without major repairs. Assistance can also be paid if you can’t return home for more than a week after an emergency. Be aware though, that this isn’t a substitute for taking out insurance.
To receive Emergency Re-establishment Assistance you must meet the following eligibility conditions:
If you require this type of assistance, contact your local Department of Health and Human Services office, and make an appointment to discuss your needs.
MoneySmart
MoneySmart is an initiative of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to help people with their financial matters. Their guide to managing insurance issues after an emergency covers:
In some circumstances, the Victorian and Australian Governments may offer other personal hardship assistance or support. Information will be available at relief centres.
If you need more information about getting emergency relief assistance from the Victorian Government, you can either visit their website and click the relief & recovery tab; or download the VicEmergency App; or call the VicEmergency hotline on 1800 226 226.