Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Federal support for WA fire victims

The federal government has confirmed additional financial support for those affected by the deadly West Australian bushfires.

Residents from Waroona during a community briefing
The federal government has confirmed additional support for those affected by the WA bushfires. (AAP)

The federal government has announced a package of financial assistance measures to assist people affected by the deadly bushfires in Western Australia's South West.

Federal justice minister Michael Keenan said people directly affected by the fires would receive 13 weeks of income support through the disaster recovery allowance.

"The allowance is for people whose income has been affected by this fire, whether that's because you haven't been receiving your normal wage or whether you're a businessman whose business has been affected," Mr Keenan told reporters.

He said the government had also activated the disaster recovery payment, an additional one-off payment of $1000 for adults and $400 for each child.

Mr Keenan confirmed the federal assistance at the Waroona incident control point, where he and several other state and federal ministers, including Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, met with emergency service personnel on Tuesday morning.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Ms Bishop praised efforts by firefighters, including the 68 personnel from NSW who were flown into the state to battle the blaze that destroyed 128 houses and killed two people.


1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world