Disaster Recovery Allowance

Support if you’ve lost income as a result of a declared natural disaster event.

This is a payment from Services Australia that you can get for a maximum of 13 weeks.

Who can get it

To get this payment, you must meet all of the following.

You:

  • were 16 or older at the time of the disaster
  • are an Australian resident or meet other residence rules
  • work or live in a declared Local Government Area
  • lost some or all of your income as a direct result of the disaster
  • earn less than the average Australian weekly income in the 13 weeks after this income loss.

Natural disaster events

These links will take you to the Services Australia website.

How to get it

You can claim online for:

  • South East Queensland Severe Storms and Flooding, December 2023 to January 2024
  • Queensland Tropical Cyclone Jasper, December 2023
  • Queensland Western and Darling Downs Bushfires, October 2023.

Claim online

To claim online, you need a Centrelink online account linked to myGov.

If your Centrelink online account is already linked to your myGov account, sign in to start your claim online.

Set up your online account

The easiest way to claim is online through your Centrelink online account linked to your myGov account.

If you don’t have a myGov account, follow the steps to create one. When you’ve created one, you can link services to your account.

Once you’ve linked Centrelink to your myGov account, follow these steps to make your claim:

  1. Sign in to myGov and select Centrelink.
  2. Select Make a claim or view claim status, then select Make a claim.
  3. Go to Help in an emergency and select Get started.
  4. Select Apply for a Disaster Recovery Allowance and then Begin.
  5. Answer the questions and submit your claim.

Claim over the phone

If you can’t claim online, you can call the emergency information line on the Services Australia website. Let them know if you need an interpreter and they’ll arrange one for free.

Help in your language

Call the Centrelink multilingual phone service on 131 202 to speak with someone in your language.

Find information in more languages about Centrelink on the Services Australia website.

Page last updated: 8 March 2024