Nearly $200 million in disaster recovery funds have been distributed to flood victims across NSW and Queensland so far with that number expected to grow in coming days.
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The Australian Government has paid more than $193.5 million under its Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) for 163,000 claims in the past seven days.
Government services minister Linda Reynolds said the Morrison Government had acted swiftly to deliver urgent disaster support to flood hit communities across Queensland and NSW.
"The significant number of claims paid reflects the size and scale of this flood disaster," she said.
"I want to acknowledge the incredibly dedicated Services Australia staff who are working tirelessly in flood hit communities as well as in our call centres to deal with the strong demand for disaster support.
"The Morrison Government remains completely focused on supporting flood impacted communities in the days, weeks and months ahead."
The minister's office confirmed, as of today, 89,000 claims worth $104.8 million have been granted in Queensland since Monday, March 1 and 74,000 claims worth $88.7 million have been granted in NSW since Tuesday, March 2.
Services Australia has already processed a higher number and value of claims compared to other recent natural disasters.
For example, in the first two weeks of last year's floods Services Australia processed 107,000 claims compared to 163,000 in the past week.
The AGDRP is a one-off, non-means tested payment of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child, and is available to eligible people in affected LGAs who have suffered a significant loss, including a severely damaged or destroyed home or serious injury.
The DRA assists employees and sole traders who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster. The DRA is payable for a maximum of 13 weeks and is taxable.
"The easiest and quickest way to claim the Disaster Recovery Payment and Disaster Recovery Allowance is online through myGov," Ms Reynolds said.
"If people require support to claim, they can call the Australian Government Emergency Information Line on 180 22 66. People who have more immediate priorities in these local government areas have six months to claim payments."
For more information, visit: servicesaustralia.gov.au/disaster.