Period of emergency declared
We’ve declared a period of emergency for more regions in New South Wales and Victoria affected by flooding.
See our table of emergency support for all regions and dates.
The period of emergency applies from 28 October to 8 November for the following NSW Local Government Areas (LGAs):
- Balranald Shire, Bland Shire, Central Darling Shire, Coolamon Shire, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Hawkesbury City, Hilltops, Kyogle, Lismore City, Lockhart Shire, Richmond Valley and Upper Hunter Shire.
The period of emergency applies from 27 October to 8 November for the following Victorian LGAs:
- Baw Baw Shire, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Nillumbik Shire, Surf Coast Shire.
Period of emergency extended
We’ve also extended the period of emergency for regions where access to many services continues to be affected by major flooding.
The period of emergency will be extended for the period from 2 November to 8 November for these LGAs in Victoria:
- Campaspe Shire and Greater Shepparton City.
Period of emergency ending
The period of emergency will end for all other regions in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania on Tuesday 1 November.
Support is available to help services and families recover after an emergency. See details below.
Support during an emergency
The following support is available for services and families in affected regions during a period of emergency:
- services can continue to get Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if they close as a direct result of the emergency
- services can waive gap fees if a child doesn’t attend, or their service is closed, during the emergency
- children will get unlimited allowable absences for the duration of the period of emergency.
Full details of support are available on our website.
Support after an emergency
The following support is available to help services and families recover after a period of emergency ends:
- Families may be able to access additional absences, if they’ve exhausted their allowable absences, after the emergency.
- The Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) special circumstances grant helps services stay open when something unexpected happens, such as an emergency. Affected services should apply after an event has occurred and they have accessed other disaster support.
- Families experiencing temporary financial hardship due to an emergency that happened in the last 6 months may be eligible for Additional Child Care Subsidy. Families should apply through their Centrelink online account.
General support
Services in affected areas may also be eligible for other government support:
- The Australian Government provides payments and help for people affected by natural disasters. Find out if you’re eligible for support on the Services Australia website.
- Your state government may provide support for individuals and businesses impacted by a natural disaster. Go to nsw.gov.au, vic.gov.au or tas.gov.au.