Money

Bushfire emergency assistance

Published on January 7, 2020 9:47 pm, by Pete Lalor

Like everyone we’ve been horrified and saddened by the bushfire disaster affecting so many people and communities around Australia. There are a range of financial assistance options and other benefits available for people that have been impacted. We’ve done our best to summarise them below and will update this page as new options become available or more details become available.

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Financial Assistance

Name	Provider	Benefit	Eligibility	Further details
Disaster Recovery Payment	Dep of Human Services	$1,000 per eligible adult $400 per eligible child	Serious injury Family member of someone killed Your home is destroyed or uninhabitable	Phone: 1802266 Website
Disaster Recovery Allowance	Dep of Human Services	Equivalent to Newstart or Youth Allowance benefit Subject to income thresholds	You've lost income due to bushfires	Phone: 1802266 Website
Red Cross Disaster Relief	Red Cross	$5,000 grant	Your home has been destroyed or is uninhabitable	Website
Salvation Army bushfire disaster support	Salvation Army			Phone: 1300 662 217 Email
Vinnies Disaster Recovery Assistance	St Vincent de Paul Society	Food & grocery vouchers Clothing, blankets and other essentials Financial assistance to pay bills Interest free loans for household items		Phone: 13 18 12
Primary Producer Assistance	NSW Rural Assistance Authority	Recovery grants of up to $15,000 Concessional loans Transport subsidies	Impacted by bushfires in specific Local Govt Areas	Phone: 1800 678 593 Website
Sporting Club Assistance	NSW Rural Assistance Authority	Concessional loans	Impacted by bushfires in specific Local Govt Areas	Phone: 1800 678 593 Website
Church and non-profit organisation assistance	NSW Rural Assistance Authority	Recovery grants of up to $15,000	Impacted by bushfires in specific Local Govt Areas	Phone: 1800 678 593 Website

Financial Services

Institution	Benefits	Eligibility	Further details
Commonwealth Bank	Accommodation assistance for insurance customers Expediting claims for insurance customers Assistance for home loan, credit card and personal loan customers Credit limit increases (subject to credit approval) Loan restructuring Waiving prepayment charges for customers accessing term deposits and investment bonds before maturity date Waiving of selected fees and charges	Check with the institution	Phone: 1300 720 814 Website
Westpac	Grants of up to $2,000 for temporary accommodation, food and clothing Possible deferral of home loan repayments for up to 3 months Emergency funds and temporary accommodation for insurance customers Possible deferral of credit card repayments for up to 90 days Personal loans at discounted rates and no establishment fees for replacement goods (subject to loan approval) Waiver of interest rate adjustments for customers withdrawing term deposits Customers experiencing severe hardship may be offered a halt on interest accrual on credit products for up to 3 months	Check with the institution	Phone: 1800 029 749 Website
ANZ	Ability to suspend repayments on loans and credit cards for up to 3 months Temporary interest rate relief on lending for customers experiencing extreme financial distress Access to term deposits early without incurring any fees Emergency funds and temporary accommodation for insurance customers	Check with the institution	Phone: 1800 701 599 Website
NAB	$2,000 grant for customers if their home is no longer in a liveable condition Credit card and personal loan relief where appropriate Suspension of home and personal loan repayments Waiving costs and charges for early withdrawal of term deposits waiving home loan and personal loan application fees Support to restructure other existing banking facilities	Check with the institution	Phone: 1300 683 106 Website
AMP	Waiving of certain fees for customers requiring urgent access to their funds Temporarily postponing home loan payments Early access to your super if the ATO have assessed you as being eligible on compassionate grounds Faster access to pension fund payments A one-off 3 month waiver of Life, Total and Permanent Disability, Trauma, Income Protection and Business Insurance Premiums	Check with the institution	Phone: 13 30 30 (Banking) 131 267 (Insurance and Superannuation) Website

Telecommunication providers

Organisation	Benefits	Eligibility	Further details
Telstra - short term	Free use of public payphones in affected areas Free use of Telstra Air payphone hotspots in affected areas Free call diversion from fixed line to mobile service Local calls and STD calls from diverted mobile services and fixed line rates Mobile customers with no Telstra home phone receive a one-off credit to value of $100	Applicable until network damage due to fire is repaired or while customers remain evacuated for up to 3 months Check with organisation	Phone: 132 203 Website
Telstra - long term	Free call diversion from fixed line to mobile service for up to 6 months One-off credit of $500 to fixed line accounts	Check with organisation	Phone: 132 203 Website
Optus	Free call diversions from fixed phones to mobiles or other fixed phone services Extended time frames for bill payments Bill waivers in instances of extreme financial hardship Free suspension, relocation or cancellation of a fixed phone service Free pre-paid credit which can be organised at local stores	Check with the organisation	Phone: 1300 301 671

Energy providers

Organisation	Benefits	Eligibility	Further details
Energy Australia	Energy bills of affected customers have been put on hold	Check with Energy Australia	Phone: 1800 120 084 Website
AGL	Energy bills of affected customers have been put on hold	Check with AGL	Phone: 131 245 Website