We’ve declared a period of emergency in additional parts of New South Wales affected by flooding.
See a list of where and when we’ve declared a period of emergency.
We continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as required.
Period of emergency declared
The period of emergency applies from 11 to 22 November in the following NSW Local Government Areas (LGAs):
- Bathurst Regional Council, Oberon Council, Shellharbour City Council, Uralla Shire.
Period of emergency extended
We’ve also extended the period of emergency for Forbes Shire and Lachlan Shire in NSW from 16 to 22 November.
Period of emergency ending
The period of emergency will end for all other regions in NSW and Victoria today (Tuesday 15 November).
Support is available to help services and families recover after an emergency. See details below.
Sector-specific support
The following support is available for services and families in affected regions during the 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.
The following support is available to help services and families recover after an emergency:
- 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.
Full details of support are available on our Help in an emergency page.
Other government 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 or vic.gov.au.