Financial and legal support

Relief and recovery payments

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 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.

To apply for a payment:

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing can help you apply for this payment.

  • Call the VicEmergency Hotline 1800 226 226 (Press 0, then 1 to talk to someone)
  • Visit an Emergency Relief Centre.

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.

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 relief payments.

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. They are working hard to call everyone back as soon as possible.

Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment

The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment is a one off, non-means tested lump sum payment.

It offers a payment of $1,000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children who’ve been adversely affected by a major disaster either in Australia or overseas.

More information will be available at 2pm on Wednesday 14 January 2026 on the Services Australia website.

Legal help

ARC Justice bushfire legal help

There are often issues lots of people experience post-disaster:

  • Renters' rights – what happens if your rental property has been damaged or destroyed?
  • Court access and orders – what happens if the bushfires impact your court date or make court orders hard to follow?
  • Insurance claims – what should you expect from your insurer and what are your rights if they offer you a cash settlement?
  • Emergency payments – what if you have trouble accessing payments from the government or your insurance?
  • … and anything else that comes up – if there is a legal element, we’ll help you find the right information or link you to the right support service.

Find out more on their website or call their offices on 03 5445 0909 or 1800 450 909.

Disaster legal help

Legal information for people affected by current bushfires.

Visit their website or call 1800 113 432 weekdays from 8.00am to 6.00pm.

Help for farmers
Emergency Fodder Support Program 

Emergency fodder is being made available for farmers in fire-affected areas. To request fodder, contact the Victorian Farmers Federation on 1300 882 833 or lodge a request on the Victorian Farmers Federation website.

Agriculture Victoria has advice for farmers who have experienced loss of stock or farming assets.

Large animals and livestock

Owners are responsible for their animals and will need to stay with their animals. Ensure you bring with you your own feed and extra water in case of power outages.

Fencing

Eligible property owners may get support to repair fencing if:

  • firefighting or disaster response teams brought about the damage, or
  • the fence is on the boundary of National Parks, State Parks or State Forests.
Advice

To find out if your damage is eligible for support, you can contact DEECA on 136 186. In most cases, fences not on the boundary of parks or those covered by insurance won’t qualify for support.

 

 

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