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An additional six local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria will be eligible for the one-off, non-means-tested Australian government disaster recovery payments.
The payment of $1,000 for an adult and $400 for a child will be available from 2pm today for those who live in Buloke, Corangamite, Hepburn, Macedon Ranges, Melbourne and Pyrenees.
The assistance is already available to those who live in Benalla, Boroondara, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton, Loddon, Maribyrnong, Mitchell, Moonee Valley, Mount Alexander, Murrindindi, Strathbogie and Yarra Ranges.
The government says that equivalent financial assistance will also be available to eligible New Zealand citizens affected by the floods.
The disaster recovery allowance, which assists employees and sole traders who have lost income for up to 13 weeks has also been expanded, bringing the total number of eligible LGAs to 46.
The following 23 Victorian LGAs have been added:
Banyule, Boroondara, Brimbank, Ballarat, Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Hume, Indigo, Manningham, Melbourne, Moorabool, Mount Alexander, Moyne, Swan Hill, Warrnambool, Whittlesea, Wodonga, Wyndham, Yarra Ranges and Yarriambiack.
Claims can be made online through myGov, 24 hours a day.
The minister for emergency management, Murray Watt, said:
As the extent of the damage is discovered, the Albanese government is continuing to extend support to impacted areas. This is a very serious situation across multiple states and we know that there may be more communities impacted by these flooding events over the coming days. As the full extent of the damage continues to become more apparent, we will keep working to provide assistance as it’s needed.