Search Grants & Funding

A payment of $7,500 or $15,000 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.

The full payment of $15,000 is available for people who meet the eligibility criteria and have additional out-of-pocket medical costs that exceed or are likely to exceed $7,500.

A total of $10,000 for home owner-occupiers whose homes have been structurally damaged and require repair to make them safe to live in or return to.

Eligibility for this grant 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.

This grant amount has increased to $10,000. They are contacting eligible applicants who have received the initial grant to let them know they may be eligible for a $5,000 top-up.

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.

Home owner-occupiers are eligible for a total of $40,000 (this amount has increased from $30,000). People who were renting homes that were destroyed, or were living in non-permanent structures are eligible for a total of $10,000.

If you're a small business or non-profit organisation, and you've suffered direct damage to your premises or equipment as a result of the NSW 2019–2020 bushfire event (beginning in August 2019), you may be eligible for a bushfire recovery grant.

The bushfire recovery grant of up to $50,000 is to help pay for costs associated with the clean-up and reinstatement of a small business or non-profit organisation’s operations. The costs could include, but are not limited to:

• payment for tradespeople to conduct safety inspections 
• equipment and materials required for cleaning up
• the removal and disposal of damaged goods and materials 
• repairing premises and internal fittings
• hiring equipment and/or replacing stock needed to resume operations.

Grants are not available for (and not necessarily limited to), the following:

• expenses that are covered under the small business or non-profit organisation's insurance policy
• loss of income as a result of the bushfires.

In March 2020 a new $10,000 grant for small business was announced. The grant is for small businesses in selected fire-affected Local Government Areas, as determined by state governments.

To receive the grant, your revenue must have dropped by 40 per cent over a three-month period, compared to the previous year, as a result of the bushfires. You can be directly or indirectly affected by the bushfires. The money can be spent on expenses such as salaries, wages, utilities, fuel and/or financial advice.

The Special Disaster Grant - Bushfire is available to eligible primary producers, following the declaration of a Natural Disaster by the NSW Government, and following the approval of the Australian Government. This assistance measure is only provided in event of Natural Disasters that have severely affected communities, regions or sectors.

In the Northern Inland, businesses in the Armidale, Glen Innes Severn, Inverell, Tenterfield and Walcha LGA's affected by the bushfires may be eligible.

Grants are provided to help pay for the costs of clean up, reinstatement activities and emergencymeasures associated with the immediate recovery of primary production enterprises. Eligible claims may cover:

• Hiring, leasing or purchase of equipment and/or materials to undertake clean-up
• Additional labour costs (above and beyond normal wage expenditure, i.e. day-to-day staffing)
• Disposing of damaged goods and injured or dead livestock, including associated costs
• Repairing a building or repairing or replacing fittings in a building, if the repair or replacement is essential for resuming operation of the primary production enterprise. (Funding is not available for repairs to a building that is used as a dwelling, unless it is used for carrying on the primary production enterprise, for example staff accommodation)
• Repairing or replacing fencing and horticultural netting (not covered by other assistance)
• Reconditioning/repairing essential plant and equipment, including repairing damage to, or replacing, water tanks, de-silting dams, water reticulation systems, forestry equipment,aquaculture and fishing equipment,
• Salvaging (but not replacing) crops, grain, feed, fertiliser and timber
• Health assessment, treatment and maintenance for livestock, poultry and aquaculture species,
• Purchase of fodder, grain, and feeds for livestock and poultry and supplementary pollen or pollen substitute,  and/or stock agistment costs, and associated transport costs (not covered by otherassistance),
• Purchase or hire/lease costs for equipment essential to the immediate resumption of the business (e.g. energy equipment such as generators and solar panels for non-residentialpurposes),
• Replacement of essential water used for firefighting purposes,
• Water cartage
• Payment for tradespeople to conduct safety inspections

St.George Foundation’s dedicated Bushfire Assistance Grant supports eligible charities and local community organisations with projects that will aid in long-term recovery efforts for bushfire-affected communities that focus on assisting children and young people

This program provides access to experts who will work with you to rebuild your business after the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. They'll work with you to strengthen the systems, operations and strategies of your business and also connect you to other services to help you recover.

The Strengthening Rural Communities program gives small rural, regional and remote communities across Australia the opportunity to access funds that can benefit and help secure their future prosperity. Grants are available for a broad range of initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities.

The Bushfire Recovery Stream provides funding for projects that support the recovery of rural, regional or remote communities affected by the Sept 2019-Feb 2020 bushfires, including:

• Projects initiated and delivered by local community groups;
• Organisations that do not have DGR status.

The following Local Government Areas in the Northern Inland are eligible:

• Armidale Regional
• Glen Innes Severn
• Gwydir Shire
• Inverell Shire
• Narrabri Shire
• Tamworth Regional
• Tenterfield Shire
• Uralla Shire
• Walcha

The Volunteer Emergency Services Fund Grant Program aims to support the needs of local volunteer emergency services and first responders supporting communities affected by the 2019/20 bushfires.

Grants are available for disaster preparedness and response activities that may include:

• rebuilding or upgrading emergency services infrastructure and replacing or upgrading emergency services equipment
• enabling the support and management of an emergency services volunteer workforce through recruitment and training
• programs to support volunteer mental health and wellbeing