Funding Assistance and Insurance

You may be able to access a range of tailored support options if you or your business are impacted by Natural Disaster.

Support for individuals can include: 

• Customised payment arrangements such as the option to defer loan repayments.
• Waived fees and charges.
• Temporary overdrafts, additional loans or emergency credit limit increases (subject to credit approval)
• Early access to Term Deposits.
• Emergency accomodation assistance for Residential Home Insurance customers whose homes haveb been damaged by bushfire, flood or storms.
• Expedited home and contents insurance claims.

Support for business customers could include: 

• Deferred business loan repayments for eligible business customers. 
• Refund of merchant terminal fees for up to 90 days or waiver of merchant terminal non-return fees for eligible business customers. 
• Specialised tailored support for larger business customers. 
• Early access to Term Deposits, Cash Deposit, Farm Management Term Deposit and Business Investment accounts.

For more information and to enquire about what support you are eligible for, click here. 

NAB has opened applications for $1,000 grants and additional financial relief to customers severely affected by flooding in officially declared disaster areas of Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.

The grants provide ready access to funds to those experiencing major structural damage or severe internal damage to their property, to meet their immediate needs.

This includes business and agriculture customers who have suffered severe damage to property, equipment, fencing – or loss of stock or livestock.

Grants are available to customers who have suffered significant damage to their primary place of residence. Grants are not available for minor damage to homes or for damage to personal items and appliances, sheds, garages, gardens, or loss or damage to investment properties or holiday homes.

NAB customers who live in officially declared disaster areas, as listed by the Department of Home Affairs’ Disaster Assist website may be eligible. All enquiries will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and require evidence showing significant property damage.

To apply

Customers can apply online at by clicking here.

Further assistance

Customers can call NAB Assist on 1300 308 132 or 1300 769 650 for business customers. 

If you’re a personal or business customer affected by a natural disaster – such as a bushfire, flood, storm or earthquake – ANZ encourage you to get in touch so that they can discuss the support options in their Disaster Relief Package. This may be able to offer you:

• Short-term payment relief on home loans, credit cards, personal loans and some business loans (we may still charge you interest during that period)
• Waiving fees for restructuring business loans
• Waiving fees for accessing term deposits early

Also, if you have ANZ Home and Contents Insurance, you may be eligible for emergency funds and temporary accommodation.

For more information, click here.

Depending on the nature of disasters, Westpac's Disaster Relief Packages generally offer the following:

Home loan and insurance customers

• Affected customers with Westpac home loans may apply to defer repayments for up to three months.
• Affected Westpac customers with Home and Contents insurance can  make a claim online 24/7.
• Affected Westpac customers with Car insurance can make a claim online 24/7.

Credit cards, term deposits and personal loans

• Affected credit card customers may apply to defer repayments to their card for up to 90 days.
• Westpac will waive interest rate adjustments for affected customers wishing to withdraw term deposits.
• Customers experiencing severe hardship may also be offered a halt on all interest accrual on unsecured credit products for a period of up to three months.

Business customers

• Apply online for Disaster Relief Package.

• Affected businesses with existing loans can request loan restructuring without incurring the usual bank establishment fees.
• Affected business customers with merchant facilities are eligible to receive assistance including monthly terminal access fee refunds for up to three months. Contact 1800 029 749 to find out if you are eligible. 

 For more information, click here.

If your service has been impacted by a disaster, whether it's a temporary interruption or a more long-term, you could be eligible for Telstra's disaster assistance packages. 

For more information, click here.

For more information click here.

For more information, click here. 

Financial assistance to eligible individuals and families whose homes have been damaged by a natural disaster.

If your home or essential household contents were damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster, you may be eligible for the Disaster Relief Grant for individuals.

The financial assistance is provided to help people to recover from the effects of a disaster and re-establish a basic standard of living. It is not provided to replace insurance or compensate for losses.

You may be eligible for financial support if the following apply: 

If there are multiple individuals with differentially owned assets living within the one address, for example, in a share-house arrangement, each individual must make their own application, covering only those items which belong to them, and which are in scope.

You may not be eligible if any of the following apply:

The application process

1. Phone 13 77 88 to discuss if you may be eligible for the Disaster Relief Grant administered by Resilience NSW with a Service NSW Representative. 

Further Information

Call 180 22 66 or click here for more information. 

The Australian Government's one-off non-taxable payment for if you’ve experienced an extreme circumstance and are in severe financial hardship.

Eligibility

There are different types of Crisis Payments to cover different situations.

To get any of these payments, you must meet all of the following:

• be in severe financial hardship
• get, or, be eligible for an income support payment or ABSTUDY Living Allowance
• be experiencing an extreme circumstance.

You’ll also need to meet other eligibility criteria based on the type of Crisis Payment you claim.

If you’re not getting an income support payment or ABSTUDY Living Allowance, use Payment and Service finder to check if you can get one.

To be eligible, you must be experiencing 1 of the following:

• you’ve experienced an incident of family and domestic violence
• you’ve had to leave your home because of a natural or other disaster not covered by a disaster relief payment
• you’ve arrived in Australia as a Humanitarian Entrant for the first time
• you were released from prison or psychiatric confinement.

When to claim

In most cases you must contact within 7 days of your extreme circumstance occurring. However, if your extreme circumstance is due to coronavirus (COVID-19) you must contact us within 14 days.

For more further information, click here. 

To get this you must meet all of the following:

To find out the full conditions read who can get it.

There are lump sum payments and ongoing, short-term allowances to help you, if you’re directly affected by a natural disaster. You can’t apply for the Crisis Payment for Other Extreme Circumstances if you’re eligible for one of these payments for the same circumstances:

For further information, click here.

If you're a small business or a not-for-profit organisation in NSW and you've been directly impacted by storms and floods, you may be eligible for a storm and flood disaster recovery small business grant.

This disaster recovery grant of up to $50,000 is to help pay for the costs of clean-up and reinstatement of a small business or not-for-profit organisation’s operations.

Covered costs could include, but are not limited to:

• payment for tradespeople to conduct safety inspections
• equipment and materials required for cleaning up
• equipment and materials essential for immediately resuming operations
• payment for a cleaner if the service would not have been needed, or exceeds ordinary cleaning costs, in the absence of the disaster
• the removal and disposal of debris, damaged materials or damaged stock
• repairing premises and internal fittings
• leasing temporary premises within the defined disaster area, replacing or repair of motor vehicles registered for business use, or replacing lost or damaged stock, if it’s essential for resuming operations.

If you were affected by the June and July 2022 floods:
Apply for the June and July 2022 storm and flood disaster recovery small business grant | Service NSW

If you were affected by the August, September and November 2022 floods:
Apply for the disaster recovery small business grant – storms and floods August and September 2022 onwards | Service NSW

The NSW and Australian Governments have announced additional assistance measures to support primary producers who have been impacted by the floods and severe weather that occurred from 27 June 2022 onwards.

Flood affected primary producers are encouraged to apply for Special Disaster Grants to access financial assistance to get back operating as soon as possible.

Once approved, eligible primary producers can access $25,000 in assistance up-front, with a further $50,000 in financial assistance available thereafter upon submission of valid tax invoices.

Find out more:
Special Disaster Grants – NSW Severe Weather & Flooding 27 June 2022 onwards

Primary producers directly affected by a declared natural disaster who are in urgent and genuine need of assistance, may be eligible for low interest loans of up to $130,000.

This low interest rate loan can help a farm business to:

• continue to operate your farm businesses for the next twelve months or until the next income is received
• replace and repair damage caused to the property and associated improvements not covered by insurance.

Find out more:
Disaster relief loans - Primary producers (nsw.gov.au)

Small businesses who have been directly affected by a declared natural disaster including floods, fires or storm damage, may be eligible for low interest loans of up to $130,000.

This low interest rate loan can help a small business:

• return to its normal level of trading or until the next major income is received within 12 months from the date of disaster
• replace and repair damage caused to your small business and associated improvements not covered by insurance.

Find out more:
Disaster relief loans - Small business (nsw.gov.au)

Natural disaster relief loans assist voluntary non-profit organisations directly affected by a declared natural disaster including flood, fire or storm damage.

Low interest rate loans are available:

• for the restoration of essential facilities that have been damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster
• and may also be directed towards temporary storage or leasing of alternate premises

Find our more:
Disaster relief loans - Non-profit organisations (nsw.gov.au)

Natural disaster financial assistance is available to help sporting and recreation clubs directly affected by a declared natural disaster including flood, fire or storm damage.

This low interest rate loan can help:

• meet the costs of restoring essential club facilities, equipment or other assets that have been damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster

Find out more:
Disaster relief loans - Sporting and recreation clubs (nsw.gov.au)

The Natural Disaster Transport Subsidy is available to eligible farmers who are affected by a declared natural disaster event. This subsidy pays for the cost of transporting:

• fodder and/or water to an affected property
• stock to sale or slaughter
• stock to/from agistment.

Find out more:
Natural Disaster Transport Subsidy (nsw.gov.au)