Are you or your loved ones affected by the Victorian floods? Here’s some important information about payments and Centrelink obligations.
Disaster Payments and Allowances are available through Centrelink for specified local government areas affected by the Victorian floods.
Disaster payments are a one-off lump sum payment, and Disaster Allowances are a temporary income support payment for people who have lost income due to the floods. The payments have specific eligibility requirements, more information can be found here.
Centrelink recipients, or persons eligible to receive Centrelink, who have had to relocate may be able to access the Crisis Payment. More information about eligibility requirements can be found here.
If you are affected by the floods, or expect to be, we recommend securing your identity information and taking it with you if you leave. You will likely need your identity information to apply for payments.
If you currently receive a payment with mutual obligation requirements, you can seek a temporary suspension on meeting the obligations by contacting Centrelink or your service provider and explaining how you are impacted by the floods.
WorkForce Australia have suspended mutual obligations for specific regions affected by the floods. You should have been notified if this suspension by WorkForce Australia applies to you. Further information, including the regions and dates, can be found here.
If you haven’t been notified, you may need to make a specific request for suspension of your mutual obligations. We recommend staying in contact with your service provider to ensure you have up-to-date information about your mutual obligations and impacts upon your payments.
If you have any questions about disaster payments administered by Centrelink, you can contact Centrelink’s Emergency Information Line on 180 22 66.
We are here to help if you have any disputes with Centrelink – such as if your Centrelink payment is cancelled, or Centrelink rejects your payment application.
You can call our Legal Assistance Line on 03 9481 0355 if you would like to speak to us about the legal services we provide.
The Victorian State Government is also providing a range of support, including financial support, to people affected by the floods, with various eligibility requirements. More information can be found here:
