East Coast Severe Weather Personal Hardship Assistance – Guidelines

These guidelines relate to East Coast Severe Weather Personal Hardship Assistance.

1 Introduction

1.1 The NSW Government and Commonwealth Government are offering financial support to individuals in the East Coast of NSW impacted by major flooding from the East Coast Severe Weather disaster event AGRN 1212 (Disaster Event), from 18 May 2025.

1.2 The major flooding from the Disaster Event significantly affected several suburbs, defined by the NSW Government as the Impacted Area.

1.3 Service NSW is the Administering Agency, and the NSW Reconstruction Authority is the Policy Owner.

1.4 This grant program is being administered in accordance with the requirements of the NSW Grants Administration Guide and the Commonwealth Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and is a joint initiative between the Australian and NSW Governments. Service NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority are jointly responsible for compliance with the Grants Administration Guide.

2 Purpose and objectives

2.1 The purpose of the East Coast Severe Weather Personal Hardship Assistance – May 2025 (Program) is to provide emergency financial assistance to help people impacted by the Disaster Event meet their needs for food, medication, clothing, temporary accommodation and other essential needs.

3 Available funding

3.1 Payments will be made as follows:

  1. $180 per Eligible Applicant; and
  2. $180 per additional Dependent up to a maximum of four for a maximum payment of $900, per application.

4 Eligibility criteria

4.1 To be eligible, an applicant must:

  1. be aged 18 or over on 18 May 2025;
  2. reside at an address in the Impacted Area on 18 May 2025;
  3. be impacted by the Disaster Event;
  4. as a result of the Disaster Event, require emergency financial assistance to meet their own Immediate Needs and those of any Dependents included in their application; and

NOTE: people aged under 18 on 18 May 2025 but not residing with an Eligible Individual, may be eligible. They should apply in person at a Service NSW Centre, Mobile Service Centre, Recovery Assistance Point or any other centre that is authorised to receive applications where they meet the eligibility criteria set out in clause 4.1(b)-(e) and the evidentiary requirements in clause 5.3(a).

5 Administrative arrangements

5.1 Timeframes and key dates

  1. Applications for the Program will be accepted from 9:00am on 30 May 2025.
  2. Applications will close at 11:59pm on 21 July 2025.

5.2 Application Process and Requirements

a. Applications must be submitted:

i. online via the Service NSW website or Service NSW mobile app using a MyServiceNSW Account belonging to the applicant; or

ii. in person at a Service NSW Centre, Mobile Service Centre or any other centre that is authorised to receive applications, for example a Recovery Assistance Point.

b. For Eligible Household applications the Eligible Applicant must include:

i. themselves, as an Eligible Individual; and
 Dependents up to four.

c. The same Eligible Individuals and/or Dependent(s) must not be included in more than one application.

NOTE: applicants must fully complete the application and submit all requisite documentation as stated on the application before the application close date set out in clause 5.1(b).

5.3 Evidentiary Requirements

a. Eligible Applicants:

i. must provide their personal contact details (including their name, email and mobile phone number);

ii. must provide proof of identity document which includes their full name and date of birth;

iii. must provide their Australian bank account details for payment; and

iv. provide evidence they reside at an address in the Impacted Region, which may include:

  1. utility bill issued between 18 November 2024 and 18 May 2025;
  2. copy of residential tenancy agreement current as of 18 May 2025;
  3. vehicle registration notice issued between 18 May 2024 and 18 May 2025 (this excludes Digital Vehicle Registration);
  4. letter from Centrelink, Medicare, Service NSW, Transport for NSW, Australian Taxation Office, or other government agency issued between 18 November 2024 and 18 May 2025;
  5. Pensioner Concession card, Health Care card or Commonwealth Seniors Health Care card current as of 18 May 2025;
  6. council rates notice issued between 18 November 2024 and 18 May 2025; and
  7. any other evidence the applicant believes supports their proof of residency on 18 May 2025, to be accepted at the discretion of Service NSW, Revenue NSW or their service providers; and

b. Eligible Applicants applying on behalf of an Eligible Household must:

i. meet the requirements stipulated in clause 5.3(a); and

ii. provide the names, dates of birth, and Medicare numbers of all Dependents included in the application.

NOTE: if you are unable to provide any of the above documentation, we are here to help. Please contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 for assistance and guidance on the next steps.

5.4 Applicants must declare the information provided in the application is true and correct. Penalties may apply for false or misleading information. Where false or misleading information is provided, applications may be referred to law enforcement.

5.5 Applicants must retain and provide on request, for a minimum of 24 months following the closing of the program, all documentation and evidence related to eligibility and the application requirements outlined in these guidelines.

5.6 Support in making an application can be provided by contacting Service NSW on 13 77 88, or by visiting a Service NSW Service Centre, Mobile Service Centre or any other centre that is authorised to receive applications, for example a Recovery Assistance Point.

6 Assessment, approval process and decision makers

6.1 Service NSW will assess applications in the order in which they are lodged. Incomplete applications will not enter the assessment queue until all required information is provided. Applications may be saved and submitted when complete using the ‘save and resume’ function.

6.2 Applications will be assessed and decided by Service NSW against the eligibility criteria in these guidelines.

6.3 Service NSW may request further information as necessary to assess an application. Failure to comply with such request may lead to an application being declined.

6.4 Service NSW reserves the right to decline an application where eligibility criteria are not met, or where the applicant does not or cannot provide sufficient information or evidence to determine if the eligibility criteria of these guidelines have been met.

6.5 Applications submitted may be subject to audit activities by Service NSW or its agents, the purpose of which will be to determine compliance with the Program, these guidelines and/or the terms and conditions.

6.6 The Chief Executive Officer (or delegate), NSW Reconstruction Authority, is the designated decision-maker. The decision-maker is responsible for making determinations regarding grant criteria and policy intent. This includes approving Program policies and processes for assessment, risk management, quality assurance and auditing, and escalation of any compliance issues.

7 Disputes and complaints

7.1 Applicants are entitled to dispute the assessment outcome of the application by requesting an internal review of the assessment. Disputes can be lodged via the Service NSW website, in person at a Service NSW centre or by contacting Service NSW on 13 77 88.

7.2 Applicants disputing the assessment outcome of the application are entitled to an internal review of the application. Applications for an internal review must be made within 28 calendar days of being notified of the outcome. Disputes lodged after this time may not be accepted by Service NSW.

7.3 The internal review will be conducted by a separate Service NSW team who will review the application against the eligibility criteria and these guidelines, including any new evidence that the applicant may provide.

7.4 Applicants may also lodge complaints via the Service NSW website, in person at a Service NSW centre or by contacting Service NSW on 13 77 88. Service NSW will manage complaints in accordance with the Service NSW Complaints Handling Policy.

8 Important information

8.1 These guidelines are correct at the time of publishing.

8.2 The NSW Reconstruction Authority and Service NSW reserve the right to amend, alter or change these guidelines at any time, and it is the responsibility of the applicant to check the relevant website prior to application. All iterations of the guidelines and the dates of publication will be available on the Service NSW website.

8.3 The guidelines that apply to your application will be the guidelines that are current at the time your application is assessed by Service NSW.

8.4 Service NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority may share applicant information with each other and other NSW Government agencies, including:

  1. de-identified disclosure of program statistics on Tableau. This is disclosed to NSW Treasury, NSW Public Works, NSW Department of Communities and Justice, the Audit Office of NSW, the NSW Cabinet Office, Commonwealth National Emergency Management Agency and their agents, Commonwealth Services Australia, and the NSW Department of Customer Service for the purpose of auditing, analysis and research,
  2. identified disclosure of suspected cases of fraud to the NSW Police as a part of Service NSW’s obligations under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW),
  3. disclosure of personal information to Revenue NSW if Service NSW has reasons to believe a contravention of payment conditions has taken place, or so that payments may be recovered.

8.5 Funding used other than in accordance with these guidelines and the terms and conditions will be repayable on demand.

9 Evaluation

9.1 The NSW Reconstruction Authority may carry out an evaluation of the Program. This may include carrying out surveys. Service NSW may contact you to ask you about your experience with the assistance you received.

9.2 Service NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority will treat survey responses as confidential and use the information only for the purposes for which it was collected.

10 Definitions

10.1 Terms or expressions starting with a capital letter have the meaning given in this section.

10.2 Defined Terms

Administering Agency means the responsible agency/department/body for assessing and administering the Program.

Dependent means a person under the age of 18 on 18 May 2025, who resides with an Eligible Individual and is financially dependent on them.

Disaster Event has the meaning given in clause 1.1.

Eligible Household means a household that includes at least one Eligible Individual and at least one Dependant residing at the same address.

Eligible Applicant means the Eligible Individual applying for the grant.

Eligible Individual means a person aged 18 or over on 18 May 2025, who meets the eligibility criteria in clause 4.1.

Grants Administration Guide means the mandated NSW Government guide which provides an overview of the grants administration process, overarching principles that apply to all NSW Government grants, and mandatory requirements that must be complied with when administering grants, compliance with which is a legal requirement under the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (NSW).

Impacted Area has the meaning given in clause 1.2 and includes any suburbs published on the NSW Government East Coast Severe Weather Event Impacted Suburb List which may be updated from time to time.

Policy Owner means the agency responsible for the grant design including overseeing development and approval of the eligibility criteria, assessment and compliance methodologies as well as grant evaluation.

Program has the meaning given in clause 1.3.

Variations to guidelines

Variations made to the guidelines will be provided here.

Published dateSummary of changes
19 June 2025Application close date updated from 11:59pm on 26 June 2025 to 11:59pm on 21 July 2025.
Last updated: 19 June 2025