More relief for flood-affected residents

Homes along Cohens Creek at Spencer were inundated on the morning of July 5

Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, has encouraged eligible residents in the region who have been impacted by the July flood event to apply for rental support payments and Back Home grants now available through the State Government.

Crouch said emergency services had completed 3,059 assessments of properties in the affected flood areas in the region since the July floods, with 88 per cent of them being residential buildings.

“Of these, 1,451 have been assessed as ‘damaged’, with 1017 having slight damage, 306 with moderate damage, 46 with severe damage and 82 properties having been destroyed,” he said.

“Resilience NSW is continuing to work with Central Coast Council and the Local Recovery Committee to coordinate the local recovery response on the Coast in support of our local communities impacted by the most recent flooding event.”

Rental support payments can help meet the cost of temporary accommodation and Back Home grants are designed to help with household repair costs.

Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, Victor Dominello, said the support payments can be accessed by residents in 17 local government areas across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter and the Illawarra.

“For some residents this is the fourth flood in 18 months and as a Government we have moved quickly to put these additional financial assistance programs in place,” Dominello said.

The Rental Support Scheme provides flood-impacted households with payments which cover up to 16 weeks’ rent.

The Back Home grants provide one-off payments of up to $20,000 for owner-occupiers, $15,000 for landlords and $5,000 for renters towards the cost of replacing appliances, reconnecting utilities, fixing roofs, connecting electricity and making other necessary repairs.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cooke, said the support will help people get back to their homes as quickly as possible.

“It’s vital people have a roof over their head as they recover from this devastating flooding,” she said.

“The June-July flood event caused damage to more than 10,700 homes across the State, with more than 1,500 assessed as uninhabitable.”

The two programs are in addition to a series of clean-up and funding programs underway, jointly funded by the NSW and Federal governments.

Crouch said anyone on the Coast needing assistance should reach out to Service NSW on 13 77 88.

Terry Collins