FAR West New South Wales residents and businesses impacted by power outages will be able to claim for financial assistance from today, November 7.
The district was last week reconnected to the power grid more than two weeks after being cut off when storms brought down electricity transmission towers on October 17.
Impacted area include Broken Hill, Tibooburra, Wilcannia, Menindee, White Cliffs and several other surrounding communities.
People are encouraged to apply via the Service NSW website and mobile apps, with easy-to-use instructions available.
Eligible adults will receive a single, one-off payment of $200 to help provide some financial relief for expenses following the severe storm which collapsed seven transmission towers which serviced the area.
Small-to-medium business owners can claim a one-off payment of $400.
To be eligible for the Power Outage Support Grant, an individual’s primary place of residence, or a business’s principal place of operation, must be within the impacted Local Government Areas of Broken Hill, Central Darling and the Unincorporated Area, which covers the north-west corner of NSW.
The NSW Government’s Power Outage Support Grants come in addition to the Commonwealth Disaster Recovery Allowance, which provides up to 13 weeks of income support for eligible workers and sole traders who have experienced loss of income as a result of the storms and outage.
Member for Barwon Roy Butler said communities across the far west affected by the power outage will welcome assistance.
“I look forward to it being delivered as quickly as possible,” Mr Butler said.
“I have been working closely with the Minns Labor Government to ensure support is in place and the opening of these grants is another step forward for the recovery of the region.”
Premier Chris Minns said the region has gone through a major disruption, with households and businesses hit hard.
“This money will go some of the way to easing the impact. We urge locals and businesses to access this support, with the Service NSW app or website being the easiest ways to apply,” he said.
Minister for Western NSW and Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty encourages local residents and business to jump online and make the application.
“These Power Outage Support Grants are the latest in a range of actions the government has taken in the weeks since a severe storm cut power to the Far West region of NSW and we thank everyone from around the state who have worked with us to help households affected,” she said.
Businesses with an active ABN at the time of the outage and fewer than 200 employees as of October 17 will be eligible to apply. Around 1,200 small-to-medium businesses are eligible for the grants.
For grants for individuals, apply through the Service NSW app or visit: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/support-for-far-west-residents.
For the business grants, apply through the Service NSW Business Bureau app or visit: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/support-for-far-west-business.
To make a claim, please jump online and follow the easy-to-use instructions.
While applications cannot be made over the phone, people can call Service NSW on 13 77 88 if they need assistance with making an application online or using the app.
If people need additional assistance, they can visit the Service NSW service centre at 115 Bagot St Broken Hill or the Recovery Assistance Point at 329-331 Blende St Broken Hill between 9am and 6pm.
Once an application has been approved, residents and business owners can expect to see the one-off payments in their bank account within a few days.
Applications close on 31 March 2025.
Meanwhile, The NSW Nationals are calling for more support for miners who have been out of work for several weeks because of the power outages.
Workers at Perilya and CBH have had little to no assistance since they were stood down, after the major outage put the mines out of action.
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said miners had been largely forgotten in the Minns Labor Government’s slow response.
“This severe weather event has directly impacted hundreds of workers. Some have been forced to take leave without pay, while others are burning through their annual leave to survive,” Mr Saunders said.
“Just because the mines stop doesn’t mean the bills do, and the $200 per eligible adult offered by the Minns Government will do very little to help people stay on top of things.
“What’s more concerning is applications are yet to open for this initial assistance, meaning struggling residents have been out of pocket for several weeks.”
