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Financial assistance grants

Grants for people in financial hardship as a result of the Australian bushfires 2019/20.

Financial assistance is available for bushfire-affected people in financial hardship.

The cash grants available are:

  • Emergency grant for people who have lost their homes.
  • Injury grant for people who were hospitalised due to the fires.
  • Primary residence repair grant for home owners whose homes have been structurally damaged. From 12 March 2020, eligibility has been extended to include destruction or damage to critical private water, septic and/or power infrastructure.
  • Re-establishment grant to help people who lost their primary place of residence – house, caravan or mobile home, whether owned or rented – to have somewhere safe to live.

Applications for the emergency, injury and primary residence repair grants will be open until 30 June. Applications for the re-establishment grant will be open unti 31 August.

There will be more assistance available for those facing severe hardship.

Questions? Check the bushfire grants Q&A »

COVID-19
We know that many people may be unable to get to Recovery Centres or to friends and family who provide support for people to complete online applications or upload documents due to COVID-19 restrictions. If COVID-19 restrictions are impacting your ability to provide the required information for a grant, please contact us at 1800 RED CROSS (1800 733 276) and we can help.

Emergency grant

A $20,000 payment to support people whose primary place of residence was destroyed.

If you have received a previous payment there is no need to re-apply. We will contact you directly.

We want to make the process as simple as possible, with a few basic checks.

Before you start your application, please have a photo or scan of the following documents ready:

  1. Evidence of your identity, such as a drivers licence or passport
  2. Proof of residence, such as a recent utility bill
  3. Details for a financial transfer, such as a bank statement or internet banking screenshot clearly showing your name, bank name, BSB and account details. Handwritten notes or photos of bank cards cannot be accepted.

If your documents have been damaged or lost in the fires and cannot be replaced, please phone 1800 RED CROSS (1800 733 276).

Questions? Check the bushfire grants Q&A »

Injury grant

A $7,500 payment for people who have spent two days or more in hospital as a result of physical injuries or mental health issues as a direct result of bushfires from July 2019.

We want to make the process as simple as possible, with a few basic checks.

Before you start your application, please have a photo or scan of the following documents ready:

  1. Evidence of your identity, such as a drivers licence or passport
  2. Proof of injury, such as hospital discharge summary.
  3. Details for a financial transfer, such as a bank statement or internet banking screenshot clearly showing your name, bank name, BSB and account details. Handwritten notes or photos of bank cards cannot be accepted.

If your documents have been damaged or lost in the fires and cannot be replaced, please phone 1800 RED CROSS (1800 733 276).

Questions? Check the bushfire grants Q&A »

Primary residence repair grant

A $5,000 payment for home owners whose homes have been structurally damaged and require repair to make them safe to live in or return to.

From 12 March 2020, eligibility has been extended to include destruction or damage to critical private water, septic and/or power infrastructure attached to your primary place of residence and located on your property.

We want to make the process as simple as possible, with a few basic checks.

Before you start your application, please have a photo or scan of the following documents ready:

  1. Evidence of your identity, such as a drivers licence or passport
  2. Proof of home ownership, such as rates notice, loan document or title.
  3. Details for a financial transfer, such as a bank statement or internet banking screenshot clearly showing your name, bank name, BSB and account details. Handwritten notes or photos of bank cards cannot be accepted.

If your documents have been damaged or lost in the fires and cannot be replaced, please phone 1800 RED CROSS (1800 733 276).

Questions? Check the bushfire grants Q&A »

Re-establishment grant

A grant to help people who lost their primary place of residence in the bushfires to have somewhere safe to live in the medium-to-long term.

It is open to home owners whose primary place of residence was destroyed, people who were renting homes that were destroyed, and people who were living in non-permanent structures such as caravans or mobile homes that were destroyed in the fires.

If you have already received a Red Cross emergency grant, you won’t need to provide information you’ve already given us. You only need to provide documents if any details have changed.

If you have not yet applied for a Red Cross grant, the process is simple. Before you start your application, please have a photo or scan of the following documents ready:

  1. Evidence of your identity such as a driver licence (all applicants)
  2. Proof of residence such as a utility bill or rent receipt (tenants, caravans or mobile homes)
  3. Proof of home ownership such as such as a rates notice, loan document or title (owner-occupiers)
  4. Details for a financial transfer such a recent bank statement showing BSB and account details (all applicants).

If your documents have been damaged or lost in the fires and cannot be replaced, please phone 1800 RED CROSS (1800 733 276).

Questions? Check the bushfire grants Q&A »