Assistance is available from QRAA to assist your small business pay for costs arising out of direct damage from flooding caused by Tropical Cyclones Charlotte and Ellie and monsoonal rains in January and February 2009. 

Applications for support closing 30 November 2009.

What assistance is available?

A grant of up to $15,000 is available to assist eligible business entities in covering the costs associated with cleaning and restoration activities as a result of the flood event.

Assistance under this scheme is not intended to cover loss of income.

How can the assistance help you?

The assistance enables you to cover the costs of the following:

• purchasing, hiring or leasing plant, equipment or materials to clean or resume business activities (including stock replacement);
• clearing or disposing of debris and damaged goods;
• repairing buildings other than houses;
• repairing or reconditioning essential plant or equipment;
• leasing temporary premises for the purpose of resuming trading;
• engaging a person to conduct a safety inspection;
• paying additional wages to an employee.

You will need to provide QRAA with evidence that you have paid all amounts in your claim for assistance, unless financial hardship applies.

Who can apply?

To be eligible for the grant you must:

• own (whether as sole owner, in partnership or as a private company) a small business;
• have been engaged in your small business, in the eligible local government areas and have suffered direct damage as a result of the flood event;
• intend to re-establish your small business enterprise
• be responsible for meeting the costs you are claiming.

Please note, further criteria do apply. To determine your eligibility, please consult the
Special Disaster Flood Assistance - Tropical Cyclones Charlotte and Ellie - Scheme Guidelines (41KB) / 
Special Disaster Flood Assistance - Tropical Cyclones Charlotte and Ellie - Scheme Guidelines (101KB) 

What areas are eligible?

To apply for assistance, you must be located in one of the following local government areas:

• Burke Shire Council
• Carpentaria Shire Council
• Cloncurry Shire Council
• Croydon Shire Council
• Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council
• Etheridge Shire Council
• Hinchinbrook Shire Council
• McKinlay Shire Council
• Richmond Shire Council 

Financial Hardship

If you are unable to pay for clean up and restoration costs you may be eligible to apply for assistance under financial hardship. For further information please refer to the Special Disaster Flood Assistance – Tropical Cyclones Charlotte and Ellie – Scheme Guidelines.

To be eligible for financial hardship you must hold a current low income health care card from Centrelink or provide a certificate from a qualified person (see scheme guidelines for further information). 

Completing your Application

When applying for assistance, you will need to complete the following application form and submit it to QRAA. Applications must be received by 30 November 2009:

Special Disaster Flood Assistance - Tropical Cyclones Charlotte and Ellie - Application Form (87KB)

If you have any questions, assistance is available...

Should you have any queries regarding the flood assistance, our staff are available to assist you in contacting your local Client Liaison Officer.
Please contact us on Freecall 1800 623 946.

Further information

Further information about the announcement can be viewed in the Ministerial press release:

Recovery grants available for north west Queensland
Date released: 18 June 2009

Further Assistance for Queensland Flood Victims
Date released: 15 June 2009

Other assistance available

QRAA also administers loans of up to $250,000 to small businesses under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Assistance scheme.