The Department of Children and Families is continuing to process Immediate Relief Payments for residents whose homes have been impacted by flooding in Katherine, while planning is underway to roll out disaster assistance to additional affected communities.
Immediate Relief Payments provide urgent financial support to help families manage the immediate costs of the emergency.
Department staff are currently working to process more than 5,000 pre-paid debit cards for affected residents in Katherine alone, with teams processing payments as quickly as possible so people can access the support they need. More than 1,100 payments have been made in the first few days.
As of this morning 1,275 pre-paid cards had been processed, with a total value of $1.15 million.
Chief Executive Officer Brent Warren thanked the community for their patience while staff work through the unprecedented demand.
"These payments are there to support people whose homes have been impacted by flooding," Mr Warren said.
"Our teams are working incredibly hard to process payments as quickly as possible so residents can access the financial support they need during this very stressful time.
"While the vast majority of residents have done the right thing, we are aware of a small number of attempts to claim more than one payment."
Immediate Relief Payments are limited to one payment per eligible household, and any attempts or actual claims for multiple payments will be investigated.
"It's extremely disappointing to see attempts to claim more than one payment when these funds are intended to help people who have been directly affected by the floods," Mr Warren said.
"Every dollar is there to support residents doing it tough, and we ask everyone to do the right thing, so assistance reaches the people who genuinely need it."
Under the Australian and Northern Territory Government joint Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), eligible communities may receive several types of financial assistance including:
Immediate Relief Payments of up to $611 per adult and $309 per child, capped at $1,537 per family, to help residents experiencing personal hardship following the floods (not means tested).Temporary accommodation assistance of up to $1,160 per family to help cover short-term accommodation costs while residents are unable to return home (means tested).Re-establishment assistance of up to $8,843 per household to support replacement of essential household items such as whitegoods, furniture, bedding and basic household goods (means tested).
Planning is now underway to roll out payments to additional affected communities.
Families and community members from Jilkminggan will begin receiving Immediate Relief Payments from Tuesday 17 March at the Mataranka Evacuation Centres. Any residents currently in Katherine can apply for their payments from the Payment Centre at Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre.
Families from Palumpa will begin receiving payments from Thursday 19 March, with 25% of the payment provided while they are in Darwin and the remaining 75% once they return home.
"These families have been staying at the Marrara Indoor Stadium Evacuation Centre since last weekend where they are being supported with meals, shelter, bedding and essential items such as nappies and clothing," Mr Warren said.
"I also want to thank our local sporting community for their patience while the stadium is being used to support flood-affected families."
Families and community members from Naiuyu and Daly River will begin receiving Immediate Relief Payments from Friday 20 March, also with 25% provided while they are in Darwin and the remaining 75% once they return home.
"These families have been staying at the Foskey Pavilion Evacuation Centre and are also receiving essential supports while they are displaced," Mr Warren said.
For residents in the Coomalie and Litchfield Local Government Areas, disaster recovery payments will be confirmed once household impact surveys are undertaken.
The Department of Children and Families will also undertake outreach into Beswick when it is safe to do so. Any Beswick residents currently in Katherine can apply for their payments from the Payment Centre at Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre.
Support payments for pastoralists affected in the Barkly and Central Desert regions will be processed directly through remote teams.
Mr Warren thanked staff and partner agencies for their efforts supporting communities during the response.
"The Department of Children and Families and our Welfare Functional Group partners are working tirelessly to deliver these payments, and we thank the community for their patience while we deliver what is the largest single disaster relief payment rollout our Welfare Functional Group has administered," he said.
Residents whose homes have been impacted by flooding are reminded to take photos or video of any damaged household items before disposing of them. Evidence of damage is important to support damage assessments and determine eligibility for disaster recovery assistance.
Opening hours for the Payment Centre at Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre:
Today until 5pm8am to 6pm on Saturday 14 March and Sunday 15 March.
