NSW expands eligibility of Back Home Grants

A large number of residents previously missed out on the grants, ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, due to technicalities of the program.

The NSW government has announced that residents living permanently in caravan parks, retirement villages and residents of multiple tenancies can now apply for the NSW government’s Back Home Grant, which it launched in April to assist flood-impacted renters and property owners in the Northern Rivers.

The funding encompasses those living in the local government areas of Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Hawkesbury, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed who have been displaced or had their properties destroyed due to flooding and are uninsured.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke acknowledged that a wider set of parameters were needed to ensure the grant was functioning as intended.

“Everyone’s circumstances are unique and it’s important that all residents in these eight flood-affected LGAs can access the same support, regardless of their living arrangements,” Ms Cooke said.

“We have changed the guidelines through consultation with residents and local MPs so that more people can receive financial support to repair their properties and replace essential household items,” she added.

The new, broader parameters mean that:

Permanent residents of caravan parks and retirement villages who own their dwellings, whether fixed or movable, are now eligible to apply for the $20,000 owner-occupier grant.

Tenants who have lease agreements for a dwelling that is on the same land as another eligible dwelling (for example, a granny flat) will be able to apply for the $5,000 tenants’ grant.

Tenants with a lease agreement in a dwelling that has been divided into multiple self-contained residences, but not formally through a subdivision or strata process, will be able to apply for the $5,000 tenants’ grant.

The government reports that more than 4,600 applications, totalling $65.2 million, have already been processed for the grants, which went live on 20 April.