Disaster Recovery allowance available due to NSW floods

What is the Disaster Recovery allowance (DRA)

This is a short-term payment – available for a maximum of 13 weeks for those who have lost income as a direct result of the New South Wales Floods.

This will be paid from the date you started losing income. You have until 14 April 2023 to make a claim.

How much can you get

How much you get depends on your circumstances.

If you’re eligible, you’ll get the maximum equivalent rate of JobSeeker Payment or Youth Allowance, depending on your personal circumstances.

If your income is more than the average Australian weekly income amount of $1769.80, your payment will be reduced to zero.

You may have to pay income tax on your taxable Centrelink payments.

The DRA is short term support if your income has been directly affected by a natural disaster. In exceptional circumstances, you may get extra support with DRA Top-up.

Neither DRA or the DRA Top-Up will show on your Centrelink payment summary, or pre-fill in your income tax return. You must manually include the amounts you received in the tax year.

For more information on what you may need to do, or if you are eligible for other tax offsets, talk to TaxAssist Accountants.

Eligibility

You must meet eligibility rules to get DRA. You must meet all of the following criteria:

were 16 or older at the time of the floods
are an Australian resident or hold an eligible visa
work or live in an affected Local Government Area (LGA)
lost income as a direct result of the storms and floods
earn less than the average Australian weekly income in the weeks after you had this income loss.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures are used to work out the average weekly income. On 19 August 2021, this was $1,737.10 per week.

If you’re part of a couple, you can both claim this payment. You and your partner will need to make separate claims.

If you’re aged between 16 and 21

You must be considered to be independent to get this payment.

The following will be looked at:

your income
your personal circumstances
if you’re dependent on anyone, such as an adult who has legal responsibility for your care and provides financial assistance.

Residence rules

There are residence rules you need to meet to get the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment or DRA.

You must either:

be an Australian resident
hold an eligible visa and be living in Australia.

Evidence you may need to provide

You will be asked to give evidence of your loss of income.

If you earn a salary or wage, you may need documents that show your income for the 4 weeks before the floods.

If your income changes each week, you may be asked to show your income for the 8 weeks before the floods.

Evidence can include any of the following:

pay slips from your employer
bank statements showing previous bank deposits from your employer
a letter from your employer.

If you’re a farmer or you have a small business, you may be asked to show as many of these documents as possible:

profit and loss statements
income tax returns
other documents that show cash flow, such as a bank statement for your business
trust or partnership tax return.

How to claim

If you want to claim a payment or concession, you need a Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN). You can get a CRN by proving who you are either:

Visit the Services Australia website here to follow the 3 steps to claim the DRA.

TaxAssist Services

If you need help or advice with your bookkeeping, Year End Accounts, payroll, taxes, superannuation or BAS Returns contact us. TaxAssist Accountants also offers an expert professional advisory service including cash flow projections and business planning. Set your business up for success and book your free, no obligation consultation today.

Last updated: 21st October 2022