Personal Hardship Assistance Program
Emergency relief payments
An Emergency Relief Payment is a Victorian Government payment, jointly funded by the Australian Government.
Emergency relief payments are designed to provide immediate financial help for eligible Victorians experiencing extreme financial hardship due to the Victorian bushfires.
Eligible people can receive emergency relief payments.
You may be eligible if you have unmet immediate relief needs and:
- your principal place of residence is damaged or destroyed by the January 2026 bushfires, and you can’t live in it, or
- your principal place of residence was in an evacuation warning area, and you evacuated your property.
How to apply
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing can help you apply.
- Call the VicEmergency Hotline 1800 226 226 (press 0, then 1 to talk to someone)
Have personal identification (ID) with you if you can. This could be a:
- driver licence
- Medicare card
- letter or bill with your name and home address.
Re-establishment assistance
Emergency re-establishment assistance is also available for eligible people impacted by the January 2026 fires.
It is designed to assist people and families to re-establish a principal place of residence. A principal place of residence is the primary home that you live in.
Re-establishment assistance is for people who:
- do not have much money to fix their home damaged by a major emergency AND
- do not have building or contents insurance AND
- cannot return home because it is damaged or destroyed AND
- cannot get to their home for more than 7 days because of a major emergency.
How to apply
Call the Emergency Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 and press 4 to apply for a re-establishment assistance payment.
For translating and interpreting support press 9 or call TIS on 131 450.
Or
Visit a Recovery Hub.
If you can, have some ID ready, like:
- driver licence
- Medicare card
- letter or utility bill showing your address.
For re-establishment assistance, you will also need to show proof of:
- income, for example, a payslip or Centrelink payment summary
- insurance status, for example, a document from your insurance company
- impact on your home, for example, photos of damages or quotes for repairs
- If you need help, please call the VicEmergency hotline on 1800 226 226. Press 9 for an interpreter.
The VicEmergency Hotline is experiencing a very high number of calls about the current fires and financial assistance. There may be a delay in answering your call. If you can’t speak to a support officer immediately you will receive a call back, which may be from an unknown number. We are working hard to call everyone back as soon as possible.
Australian Government disaster payments
Disaster Recovery Payment
There are lump sum payments and short term allowances to help you from the Australian Government.
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment is a one off, non-means tested lump sum payment.
It’s available if you’ve had major damage to your home or major assets that you own at your home. It can also help if you were seriously injured or your immediate family member has died or is missing.
The payment is $1,000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children.
The Disaster Recovery Allowance
The Disaster Recovery Allowance is an allowance for up to 13 weeks to help if you have lost income as a direct result of the January 2026 Victorian bushfires.
Equivalent financial assistance is also available to eligible New Zealand citizens.
Find information about eligibility including declared areas and how to claim on Services Australia website.
Prolonged Power Outage Payments – residential
If your residence has been without power for at least 7 days in a 2-week period, you are eligible to receive payments of up to $2,380.
Electricity distributors are responsible for administering the scheme, and have arrangements in place to distribute funds to residential customers. Residential customers can find their electricity distributor on the Energy Vic website.
This payment is only applicable to principal places of residence.
Ausnet customers
Find information on the Ausnet website or by calling on 1300 561 171 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).
Powercor customers
Eligible customers will be contacted by Powercor via SMS, email or phone and provided with a link to a dedicated page on the Powercor website.
If you believe you are eligible for a Prolonged Power Outage Payment but have not received an SMS and link, please contact Powercor on 13 22 06.
Lost identification (ID)
If you have lost your ID, you can apply for replacement certificates through the Births, Deaths and Marriages website.
Financial counselling
Individuals and small businesses impacted by the fires are eligible for financial counselling.
Without early intervention and longer-term support, the financial impacts of disasters can compound trauma for communities affected by bushfires.
Specialist counsellors will help individuals and families access recovery grants, manage insurance claims, replace essential items and deal with debts through payment plans and fee waivers. They will also provide advocacy with insurers and creditors and connect people to legal support.
To access financial counselling, please visit a Recovery Hub.
January 2026 Victorian bushfires
Relief and recovery support for people and communities affected by the Victorian fires that started on 7 January 2026.
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