Far North Queensland emergency update: support extended

This content was published on Monday 18 December 2023. There may be more recent updates available.

We’ve extended the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) period of emergency in place for parts of Far North Queensland affected by Tropical Cyclone Jasper and subsequent flooding. We’ve also expanded the period of emergency to 3 additional local government areas (LGAs).

The period of emergency now applies from 12 to 27 December for the following LGAs:

  • Cairns Regional Council
  • Cook Shire Council
  • Douglas Shire Council
  • Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council
  • Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council
  • Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council
  • Cassowary Coast Regional Council
  • Mareeba Shire Council
  • Tablelands Regional Council.

We continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as required.

Support during the emergency

The following support is available in affected regions during the period of emergency:

  • you can continue to get CCS if your service closes as a direct result of the emergency
  • you can waive the gap fee if a child doesn’t attend, or your service is closed, during the emergency
  • families will get unlimited allowable absences for the duration of the period of emergency.

Read more about support during a period of emergency.

Support after the emergency

The following support may help you recover after an emergency:

Read more about support after a period of emergency.

Other disaster support

Your state or territory government may provide additional support in the event of a natural disaster. Find out more at qld.gov.au.