Western, Darling Downs and Southern Downs Bushfires October 2023
Personal hardship financial assistance is now available for Queensland communities impacted by bushfires in the Western Darling Downs.
If you have been affected by this event, you can:
- check which areas have been impacted
- check if you're eligible for financial assistance
- find out about the different grants available
- locate your nearest Support Services location
- access brochures for key community support contacts in your area.
Eligible areas
Financial assistance is available for people who were affected by this event in these areas:
Assistance provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Check your eligibility
You need to be aged 18 years or older to complete an online application and have:
- Identification (ID)—Driver licence and Medicare card
Note: If you do not have these, other forms of ID are accepted. Call the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349. - Bank account details.
- A valid email address.
If you are under the age of 18, please contact the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349 to obtain advice on how to lodge an application.
Complete this form to find out what financial assistance you may be eligible for.
Start typing and select the address from the list. If your address does not appear, select Enter address manually, and complete each field for your address.
Unfortunately you are not eligible for any of the Queensland Government grants available for this event.
The Australian Government may also be offering disaster recovery payments.
To find information about other supports visit the Disaster Assist website.
Available grants
The following grants have been activated for this event. To find out which of these grants you may be eligible for, complete the form above.
The Australian Government may also be offering support. For more information about the disaster recovery payments visit the Services Australia website.
To find information about other supports visit the Disaster Assist website.
Transport and motoring assistance
You can apply for help with vehicle registration, licensing and other transport and motoring products.
Support Services locations
If a Community Recovery Hub near you has closed, please check the following Support Services locations.
If you need help and there is not a service near you, please call the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.
You can access a range of recovery information and services including:
- Financial support (e.g. personal financial hardship assistance, financial counselling)
- Practical support services (e.g. access to advocacy, translation services)
- Assistance with current applications including validating identification documents
- Information and referral (e.g. welfare referrals, other local services)
- Disaster-specific advice (e.g. safe clean up, managing health concerns, how to cope)
- Emotional support (e.g. personal support, counselling and mental health services)
- Resources to assist vulnerable individuals and groups (e.g. young children and adolescents, domestic and family violence).