Here is some more information on commonwealth Covid disaster support payments.
Yesterday, Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, extended by two days the hotspot declaration for certain parts of Sydney, triggering Covid-19 disaster support payments.
The City of Sydney, Waverley, Woollahra, Bayside, Canada Bay, Inner West and Randwick local government areas have been declared Covid-19 hotspots for the purposes of commonwealth support until 2 July 2021.
These hotspots were first declared on Wednesday (23 June), initially for seven days, but this has now been extended until 2 July. The hotspot declaration will be reviewed again on 1 July.
Crucially, the payments can be accessed seven days from the initial declaration, meaning those workers who are unable to earn an income due to NSW public health orders can access the payments from 1 July.
The Covid-19 disaster payment is a one-off payment for when lockdowns last more than seven days, and is open to people who reside or work in a commonwealth-declared hotspot.
If you’re eligible and you’ve lost less than 20 hours work, you’ll get $325 for each relevant period of lockdown. If you’re eligible and you’ve lost 20 hours or more of work, you’ll get $500 for each relevant period of lockdown.
Eligibility will depend on whether a worker:
- Can’t attend work and lost income on or after the eighth day of the lockdown (1 July).
- Has access to appropriate paid leave entitlements through their employer.
- Is not getting an income support payment, a state or territory pandemic payment, pandemic leave disaster payment or state small business payment for the same period.
- They must not have liquid assets of more than $10,000 or be in receipt of other payments.
Further information will be made available when the payment comes into effect.
However, it’s important to note that, if any further jurisdictions are placed into lockdown later today, the situation for payments for workers and residents in those areas might become more complicated.
