Another $97 million in support is rolling out for fire-affected towns and businesses across Victoria.
The new package is jointly funded by the federal and state governments and follows previously announced funding help.
The fires have reportedly burnt 404,000 hectares with at least one reported death.
The support comes as efforts continue to reopen roads across the state.
The new package comprises of:
- $15m-plus for recovery staff and hubs to help residents access services and information, help councils identify and tailor programs and provide on-the-ground support. Councils will receive $450,000-$1.3m while community organisations can apply for grants of up to $75,000.
- $16m for prolonged blackout payments; households without power for seven or more days within a two-week period will receive $2380 a week up to three weeks. Full details available at energy.vic.gov.au/about-energy/safety/power-outages.
- $40m to fund grants capped at $75,000 for farmers to dispose of livestock, rebuild or replace damaged farm infrastructure and restore operations. More information available at ruralfinance.com.au.
- $10m in concessional farming loans capped at $250,000 per loan for farmers with significantly damaged properties and loans up to $100,000 for those who suffered a major loss of income. More details available at ruralfinance.com.au.
- Almost $12m for the Council Support Fund to help restore facilities and services such as cleaning up and repairing parks, ovals, centres, playgrounds and sports fields. It will run for two years with councils to receive up to $750,000.
- $4m-plus for financial counselling to help residents access emergency help, navigate recovery systems and stabilise their finances. Counsellors will help with access to recovery grants, manage insurance claims, replace essential items, deal with debt, advocate with insurers and creditors and connect people to legal support.
Yesterday, they governments announced $10m in funding support for uninsured residents to remove damaged structures and hazardous materials with the state giving $5m to cover a waiver of waste and landfill fees.
SUPPORT OPTIONS
Victorians can call the Emergency Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 for information about payments and recovery programs.
For emergency payments, visit an emergency relief centre or call VicEmergency on 1800 226 226.
A 2026 bushfire appeal is now open for donations: click here to visit their website.
REOPENING THE ROADS
Vic Emergency State Response Controller David Nugent says crews are working as hard and as quickly as they can to reopen roads.
“We cannot reopen a road until it has been deemed safe to do so,” he says.
“It is expected that some roads will reopen in a few days whereas other roads with more significant damage or in active fire grounds will take longer.”
He says more than 100 local and arterial roads remain closed particularly in north east Victoria. Of the 15 main arterial roads that were closed, 10 were expected to remain closed today (January 14).
“The bushfires damaged road surfaces, signage, markings and bridges – many of which are still in active fire grounds,” Nugent says.
“First we need to make sure the roads are safe from fire, then we can start clearing debris and do our critical hazardous tree assessments.”
Nugent says their focus is on local access for residents, farmers and businesses: fodder deliveries are being co-ordinated as a safety measure.
“There are currently thousands of hazardous trees along roadsides in fire impacted areas, making them unsafe for general access,” he explains.
“Significant work is under way to assess all damaged roads, including hazardous tree assessments and … working closely with local arborists.”
Nugent says the assessment process will take time.
“The first stage is to clear debris from roads to allow safe access to the site. Once safe to do say, assessors can properly determine how bad the damage is and treat the risk.”
Nugent says the public are advised to avoid all areas with road closures until advised otherwise; once roads reopen, drivers must stick to posted speed limits and never park under trees in fire impacted areas.
For the most up-to-date information on road closures, visit the VicTraffic website.
Since January 7, there have been 189 road closures statewide with 54 in the Hume district alone, VicEmergency says.
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