Disaster assistance has been extended to the Clarence Valley Local Government Area (LGA) following severe bushfires on 13 October 2023 in New South Wales.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and is also available for people impacted by bushfires in the Inverell, Kempsey, Kyogle, Mid-Coast, Mid-Western, Port Macquarie-Hastings and Tenterfield LGAs.
The assistance available includes:
- help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged, including assistance for people to meet immediate needs, grants to replace essential household items, and grants for essential structural repairs to homes
- 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, sporting and recreation clubs, and non-profit organisations to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property
- freight subsidies for primary producers to help transport livestock and fodder.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said the bushfire caused significant damage across the region.
"This is a really intense time for people affected by these dangerous fires, and I want to recognise the collective effort from agencies across all levels of government and thank those heroes working to get these fires under control," Minister Watt said.
"The Albanese Government is supporting impacted communities with this emergency assistance, so recovery can get underway for those directly affected.
"We continue to work alongside the NSW Government to collect information and fully understand the impact of this disaster."
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said bushfire impacted communities, landowners, farmers, and primary producers will be supported in their clean-up and recovery from bushfire.
"We are continuing to assess the impacts of fire events as quickly as possible, with disaster declarations like these the crucial first step in unlocking assistance for those in need," Minister Dib said.
"In recent weeks thousands of volunteer firefighters have been out across NSW firegrounds.
"Firefighters have faced challenging conditions across NSW and I would like to thank them for their ongoing response to the fires and their commitment to protecting communities.
"This is a challenging time for the community and this important disaster assistance will provide bushfire affected residents with vital support to help them get back on their feet."
