Recovery information
Help is available for people impacted by the October 2022 Victorian floods.
Connecting Community to Builders program
The Connecting Community to Builders program, established after the October 2022 floods, links flood impacted homeowners with registered and available tradespeople in their area, or willing to travel to your area, to help repair and rebuild your home.
Eligible homeowners can download the fact sheet and register for the program on the Department of Transport and Planning website(opens in a new window).
Planning and Building Assistance Rebate Scheme for Flood Recovery
This scheme provides a financial rebate of up to $3000 per eligible household.
If your home was destroyed or severely damaged by the October 2022 Victorian floods, you can use the rebate for work associated with permit applications.
For information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit the Windermere website.
Recovery services, wellbeing and support
Visit our recovery services page to see a list of available support to help your recovery journey.
Recovery progress
The heavy rainfall that hit Victoria in October 2022 led to devastating and prolonged flooding across the state.
The damage was widespread, with 63 of Victoria’s 79 municipalities and one alpine resort impacted by the flooding.
We partnered with government and non-government services to respond to recovery needs. We also supported councils through programs and funding to lead local recovery.
Recovery snapshot
- 10,000+
- calls to the Flood Recovery Hotline
- 2,500+
- clean-up and structural assessment registrations
- 13,000
- tonnes of flood debris removed
- 2,000+
- housed in temporary accommodation
- 3,800+
- households connected with a recovery support worker
Additionally, more than $24 million in emergency relief payments were made directly to individuals to help them buy essential emergency items such as food and clothing.
Flood Recovery Support program
We launched our Flood Recovery Support program in the first days of the October 2022 Victorian floods. The program provided flood-impacted people with a dedicated recovery support worker to help them access recovery supports that they were eligible for.
The Flood Recovery Hotline was set up to manage access into the program and provide recovery support. Since the floods began, we’ve triaged more than 10,000 calls to the Flood Recovery Hotline.
Clean-up program
Our Clean-up program started within days of the October 2022 Victorian floods.
We supported councils with flood debris and waste collection through our Street Debris Removal program. More than 13,000 tonnes of street debris was collected and disposed of.
We worked with Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) to coordinate volunteers to ‘muck out’ flooded homes. Dubbed ‘Operation Mactier’, their work helped community members to access clean-up services, including:
- removing debris such as sludge left by floodwaters from inside a structure
- moving flood-damaged household items to the kerbside for collection.
More than 785 volunteers recorded over 21,000 volunteer hours.
Structural assessments
We provided free structural assessments by independent contractors for eligible properties.
The assessments:
- identified hazards like asbestos or mould
- told property owners if they were eligible for support to have hazards removed for free, or the structure demolished if needed.
Aboriginal cultural heritage management
We assessed all properties that were registered for site works for cultural heritage. Site supervisors also had inductions on Aboriginal cultural management.
Parks Victoria
We are continuing to work with Parks Victoria to clean-up and repair flood-damaged parks. As of April 2023, Parks Victoria reopened or partially reopened 90% of flood and storm affected parks. You can find up to date information on park openings on the Parks Victoria website(opens in a new window).
Temporary accommodation
Accommodation was an immediate need. Our Temporary Accommodation program housed more than 2,080 people at:
- hotels
- motels
- caravan parks
- the Centre for National Resilience
- Elmore Village.
The Commonwealth and Victorian governments made the Centre for National Resilience in Mickleham available for emergency accommodation. Opening on 18 October, it provided haven for almost 300 Victorians in the immediate aftermath of the floods.
Elmore Village was established in consultation with the Rochester community. Opening on 29 October, it gave local residents a safe place to stay – close to their homes, work, schools, and community. Each resident had one-on-one transition support, with clear exit pathways to alternative accommodation.
We reused short-term modular houses from its 2019-20 bushfire program to create more affordable longer-term accommodation options for Rochester residents. We installed 20 short-term modular houses at Rochester Caravan Park. These units are provided at an affordable rate for eligible Rochester residents to stay in while they recover.
We supported Aspen Lodge to re-open after the October 2022 Victorian floods(opens in a new window) to create affordable accommodation and housing options for community members displaced from the floods.
Next steps
The impacts of the floods continue to be deeply felt, and there’s more work to be done to rebuild communities and make them stronger for the future.
We are continuing our work with local councils and their residents through community recovery committees. These committees ensure that communities have a voice in their recovery and are empowered to set their own local priorities. Our community recovery hubs and community recovery officer programs ensure that people continue to have locally-led support in their own communities.
The transition to locally managed recovery has begun, through community recovery hubs and community recovery officer programs.
Victoria is still feeling the impacts of the floods, but we are committed to providing recovery support that addresses the most pressing needs of people and communities.
Resources
Recovery services, wellbeing and support
Find out more about the support, advice and counselling available as you and your family recover from storms, bushfires or floods.
Translated information about Emergency Recovery Victoria (ERV)
Find out how to get help after a bushfire, flood or storm, in languages other then English.
Donate
Donations for this specific event have closed.
If you would still like to make a donation to support communities impacted by natural disasters, please go to not-for-profit donation service GIVIT
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