Australians with long-term injuries, permanent disabilities and dependents of deceased will now receive a second round of lump sum payments to help with their recovery process.

Since the launch of the Bali Appeal, Australian Red Cross has provided financial assistance on 1,929 occasions to assist a total of 560 Australians affected by the tragedy.

The remaining unallocated funds as of 16 December 2003 was $0.8 million out of a total $11.2 million allocated to Australia from the $15.3 million Bali Appeal Fund. An additional $0.6 million is currently under distribution for Long Term Assistance Grants phase 1 and Continued Assistance, which provides general living, counselling and legal expenses.

Out of the $0.8 million unallocated contingency, $0.4 million will be added to the Long Term Assistance Grants program phase 2 for immediate distribution. $0.3 million will be set aside for a new Emergency Assistance Fund to meet urgent needs that may arise as individuals currently receiving assistance are transitioned from Red Cross to Australian Government Assistance over the next few months. $0.1 million will be held in contingency to ensure client support; referral and advocacy services are available during this transition and to cover any final administration costs. Any funds that remain after this period will be re-distributed to Australians with longer-term needs.

Martine Letts, Secretary General of Australian Red Cross, said, 'Over the past 14 months the needs of Australians with longer term needs have become more apparent. We hope the additional lump sum payments will contribute towards meeting the longer-term needs of these individuals and provide some stability during their recovery process'.

'Last Friday, we wrote to all individuals who received the Long Term Assistance Grants to inform them about the additional funds they are eligible to receive. Those who will benefit will include people with permanent physical disabilities; those that sustained long term injuries; the dependent children of deceased, permanently physically disabled and long term injured; and financially dependent spouses of deceased Australians.

'As a prudent measure we have also created an Emergency Assistance Fund for the first quarter in 2004 to ensure we can respond to any urgent needs that arise while we are in the process of referring clients to Australian Government agencies for ongoing support.

'We have been working closely with the Australian Government to ensure support is available for Australian victims and families after Bali Appeal funds have been fully distributed.

'We have also extended the caseworker support network into the New Year to help individuals finalise any outstanding requests for assistance and to ensure a smooth transition from the Red Cross to Australian Government Assistance. We intend providing limited caseworker support function into the first quarter of 2004 to ensure we have capacity to respond to any concerns or difficulties experienced by our clients during this important transition.

'Any unspent funds that remain after this transition period will be redistributed to Australians with longer term needs', Ms Letts said.

The allocation of $15.3 million of the Bali Appeal Fund, as at 16 December 2003 was approximately $11.2 million (72%) to Australia, $3.6 million (24%) to Bali and $0.5 (4%) for administration.
Of the $11.2 million allocated to Australia, approximately $10.3 million (92%) of funds has been spent or is in the process of being spent on direct financial aid to victims and their families; $0.4 million (3%) to provide client support, referral and advocacy to victims and $0.5 million (5%) towards two Australian projects associated with the tragedy.

The $3.6 million for the people of Bali has been spent or allocated on an Initial Response and Tracing program; Purchase of three Ambulances and a Training program; a Blood Bank facility to enhance a decentralised collection service and a centralised blood stock control at Sanglah hospital; a comprehensive program to combat and control Tuberculosis; a Mental Health program for Balinese victims and their families; a Surgical, Medical and Livelihood needs program including support for anniversary events for affected Balinese, and towards a Long Term Disaster Preparedness project.