NSW bushfire Community Recovery Officers (CROs) will be funded for a further 12 months to allow them to help with flood recovery as well.
Community Recovery Officers have been based in NSW local councils for the past year, working to provide bushfire impacted communities with tailored local support and coordinating services between government, recovery organisations, and individuals.
Federal Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said local council-appointed CROs, together with the Commonwealth recovery officers, are well placed to understand disaster recovery within their communities – bushfire or flood.
The extension means community-based liaison officers are available to help bushfire and flood victims navigate immediate assistance, grants for household and structural repairs, and other recovery needs.
CRO assistance is funded through the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), with the 12-month extension of assistance applying to 23 LGAs.
They include Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley, Nambucca, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Mid Coast, Walcha, Armidale, Glen Innes Severn, Tenterfield, Lithgow, Hawkesbury, Blue Mountains, Cessnock, Wollondilly, Wingecarribee, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Bega Valley, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys, and Mid-Western.