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Australian Red Cross

For help, information and resources before, during and after an emergency or disaster, visit the Red Cross

Anglicare

Anglicare focuses on helping children, young people and families who are homeless or in crisis through providing emergency housing, homelessness support and food relief.

For food and financial assistance, call Anglicare on (02) 8624 8600 Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.

Anglicare locations fall with 3 Anglican dioceses:

  • Canberra/Goulburn
  • Riverina
  • Bathurst.

Ask Izzy

Use this free and anonymous service to find the support you need, now and nearby. You can Ask Izzy when you need housing, food, health, money, counselling, legal advice and everyday items. 

If you’re on the Telstra mobile network, you can access Ask Izzy even if you don’t have credit.

BlazeAid

BlazeAid volunteers set up a basecamp and work in a disaster-affected area for many months, not only helping individuals and families, but also helping rebuild the local communities.

They work with rural communities in genuine need of volunteer assistance by helping to clear, repair or replace fences that have been damaged or destroyed in natural disasters.

Dress for Success

Women in need of clothing can contact Dress for Success for a casual clothing pack that includes shoes, underclothes and toiletries to meet your individual needs.

To arrange for a pack:

Potable water systems

There are 2 types of assistance available for replacement of potable water:

  • replacement of potable water used for firefighting
  • clean-up and refilling of potable water systems contaminated by fire retardant chemicals.

Replacement of potable water used for firefighting

If you are not connected to town water supplies and your residential potable water was taken by firefighting agencies for firefighting activities during a declared natural disaster, you can apply for assistance to replace the water taken.

NSW Public Works Advisory can arrange for an equivalent amount of water to be delivered to your property (up to 20,000 litres). If you have already replenished your water supply, you may be eligible for reimbursement of the costs of one delivery of water up to a maximum of 20,000 litres.

To apply, complete and submit the application form – PDF to NSW Public Works Advisory. For more information, call 13 77 88.

Clean-up and refilling of potable water systems contaminated by fire retardant chemicals

If are not connected to town water supplies and your residential potable water system was contaminated by fire retardant chemicals dropped or sprayed by firefighting agencies during a declared natural disaster, you can apply for assistance to clean and refill these systems.

NSW Public Works Advisory can arrange for qualified service providers to undertake the cleaning and refilling of your potable water system.

To apply, complete and submit the application form – PDF to NSW Public Works Advisory. For more information, call 13 77 88.

Fences

If your land borders public land and you've had fences damaged or destroyed in the 2019-2020 NSW bushfires, you can apply for funding to help cover the cost of rebuilding boundary fences.

Up to $5000 per kilometre is available as part of the 'Supporting our neighbours – public land boundary fencing program'. If you’ve already started rebuilding, you can still receive a backdated payment.

For more information or to apply, visit Local Land Services or call 1300 778 080.

National Debt Helpline

The National Debt Helpline is a not-for-profit service that helps people tackle their debt problems. If you're in financial difficulty as a result of the fires, visit Bushfires – Financial Difficulty or call 1800 007 007 for free support.

NSW Land Registry

NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) is a private company that operates the land titles registry on behalf of the NSW Government. They are providing title searches and plan images of properties free of charge, for landholders who have been impacted by the bushfires.

Property searches and plans can assist landholders with insurance claims and development applications to council, as well as provide peace of mind regarding land ownership.

Call the NSW LRS on 1300 396 076 (regional callers) or 8776 3575 to talk to a team member.

OzHarvest

Support and assistance includes food parcels of packaged food, pantry items, vouchers and referrals to support services.

Find food relief in your area

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army works with government agencies and community organisations to provide emotional support and referrals, and financial assistance to individuals and families including:

  • Hardship recovery grant – if you are experiencing ongoing extreme hardship as a result of a bushfire disaster.
  • Loss of residence grant – if your primary place of residence (owned or leased) has been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable due to bushfires.

The grants are offered for declared natural disasters, limited to one grant per household, and available to eligible applicants over the age of 18, who:

  • suffered loss from bushfires
  • lived or worked in a bushfire affected area at the time of the fires.

To apply for a grant, or if you have further questions, call 1300 662 217.

Last updated: 16 January 2023