Disaster assistance has been made available for the Tamworth community affected by the October 2018 bushfire.

The assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).

Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Senator the Hon. Linda Reynolds, who has responsibility for Commonwealth disaster assistance, said the bushfire burnt for a number of weeks destroying more than a thousand hectares of land near the Ironbark Nature Reserve.

“The bushfire was fuelled by numerous days of gusty winds and high temperatures, threatening lives and causing major disruptions to nearby communities,” Assistant Minister Reynolds said.

“A range of assistance is now available to help people who have been affected by the bushfires as well as funding for operational response activities.”

NSW Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant said significant firefighting operations were required in response to the bushfire.

“Our first responders did an incredible job, acting swiftly to protect the communities threatened by this bushfire,” Minister Grant said.

“The NSW Rural Fire Service battled against challenging weather conditions and deployed large numbers of firefighting personnel, appliances and aircraft to combat the bushfire.

“But it’s not just the bushfire that communities have to battle alongside our emergency services, it’s the often daunting recovery when it passes, and that’s what this important assistance will help with.”

The following assistance is available under the NDRRA:

• Help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged;
• Support for affected local councils to help with the cost of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets;
• Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations;
• Freight subsidies for primary producers; and
• Grants to non-profit organisations.

For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact the Disaster Welfare Assistance Line on 1800 018 444.

To apply for a concessional loan, grant or freight subsidy, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au.

Further information on disaster assistance is available on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at disasterassist.gov.au and the NSW emergency information and response website at emergency.nsw.gov.au.