The Department of Human Services (DHS) extended the availability of its phone lines last weekend to allow people affected by the Far North Queensland floods to claim financial assistance out of normal working hours.
General Manager at the Department, Hank Jongen said the fastest way to claim was by making a phone call.
“We know people need urgent assistance, so our staff are on standby to help — most claims made over the phone are processed immediately,” Mr Jongen said.
“Our staff granted more than 14,000 claims worth over $17 million in the first three days of this support being activated,” he said.
“We handled more than 20,000 calls in those few days.”
He said the phone lines were extended so people could keep applying for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA).
“We know people need urgent assistance, so our staff are on standby to help,” Mr Jongen said.
“The AGDRP and DRA is for eligible people living in Burdekin, Cook, Douglas, Townsville or Wujal Wujal local government areas.”
The Minister for Human Services and Digital Transformation, Michael Keenan said people had until 3 August to make a claim, however, most needed to get urgent financial assistance right away.
Claims for disaster assistance payments can be made by calling 180 22 66 or visiting humanservices.gov.au/disaster for more information.
