THE State and Federal governments activated disaster assistance to 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in northern NSW last Thursday in anticipation of the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The NSW Government’s Natural Disaster Declaration applies to the LGAs of: Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Lord Howe Island, MidCoast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Richmond Valley and Tweed.

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Support has been made available under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Assistance measures that may be provided to communities include:

● Assistance for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation and essential items generally provided from evacuation or recovery centres.

● Grants for eligible low-income residents to replace lost essential household items to maintain basic standard of living.

● Grants for eligible low-income residents to undertake essential structural repairs to restore their homes to a basic, safe and habitable condition.

● Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.

● Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers, and non-profit organisations and grants to sporting and recreation clubs to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property.

● Freight subsidies for primary producers to help transport livestock and fodder.

● Financial support towards counter disaster activity undertaken by emergency service organisations to keep communities safe.

“We are activating a range of support to assist flood impacted residents begin their recovery as soon as possible,” said Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister
“As we understand the full extent of damage from this event, we will move quickly to activate appropriate support for these communities.”

NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said natural disaster declarations are a vital step in unlocking joint assistance so communities can begin the clean-up, rebuilding and recovery process.

“We are rolling out support measures for communities we know are likely to be impacted by Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

“As the event unfolds and impacts are known, further measures will be considered in response to community need,” Minister Dib said.

More information on disaster assistance can be found at https://www.nsw.gov.au/emergency/recovery and www.disasterassist.gov.au