Update 4: Flooding - Litchfield and Coomalie

6:45pm Friday 20 March 2026.

Financial assistance

Disaster assistance has been activated for eligible residents within the Litchfield and Coomalie Local Government Areas, following major flooding that has impacted areas around the Darwin River Dam and the impacts of Cyclone Narelle for Coomalie LGA residents.

The Australian and Northern Territory governments are jointly providing support under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) to assist affected residents .

Residents whose homes have been directly impacted may be eligible for Category A, Personal Hardship and Distress Assistance (Immediate Relief Payments) and Re-establishment Measures.

Strict eligibility criteria applies and affected residents are reminded to document any inundation (flooding) of your home and not to dispose of damaged items without recording evidence of damage in the place the damage occurred.

Eligibility

To be eligible for financial assistance, residents must live in the Litchfield or Coomalie Local Government Area and experienced:

• inundation (flooding) to their house
• isolation from essential services due to their primary place of residence (house) impacted by floods or cyclone
• inability to access essential services (for example, shops in your community closed due to floods or cyclone).

Road closures do not qualify for payment eligibility.

Immediate relief payments

Immediate Relief Payments are a Northern Territory Government payment, jointly funded by the Australian Government.

These payments give immediate help to people who experienced financial hardship due to flood or cyclone events in March 2026.

Eligibility is based on where you live and how you were impacted. Payments are not means tested and include payments of $611 per adult and $309 per child, capped at $1,537 per family, with payments made via a pre-paid debit card.

For information about how to use your pre-paid card, see payment card rules PDF (204.0 KB).

Temporary accommodation assistance

For residents that were isolated from their home or who could not get to a dedicated Evacuation Centre, up to $340 per adult and $172 per child, capped at $1,160 per family is available to reimburse the cost of short-term temporary accommodation while you were unable to return home. This assistance is means tested.

Eligible residents will need to provide:

• a tax receipt for out-of-pocket accommodation expenses in the name of the applicant (including ABN and GST details)
• photo ID (such as drivers’ licence)
• proof of residence (recent rental agreement, rates notice, utilities bill, letter from employer)
• proof of annual income (payslips, tax statements or Centrelink statements).

Re-establishment assistance

Emergency re-establishment assistance of up to $8,843 is also available for eligible people impacted by the March 2026 floods. Assistance is means tested and there are limits on claims.

It is designed to assist people and families to re-establish their principal place of residence. A principal place of residence is the primary home that you live in.

Re-establishment assistance is for people who:

• do not earn enough money (annual household incomes apply) to fix their home damaged by a major emergency and
• do not have building or contents insurance and
• cannot return home because it is damaged or destroyed or cannot get to their home because of flooding on their property (road closures do not qualify) and
• haven't already had costs covered by compensation, donations, or other charity help.

For those residents who meet the income thresholds may be eligible for support to repair or replace essential household items, such as:

• beds and bedding
• furniture
• refrigerators
• washing machines
• other whitegoods
• basic household items.

To ensure you have the appropriate evidence to support damage and eligibility assessments, you must document (photos and footage) any inundation (flooding) of your home. Do not dispose of damaged items without recording evidence of the damage.

How to apply

Eligible residents can apply for NTG Immediate Relief Payments:

• online: apply for Immediate Relief Payment (you will need to attend a Payment or Welfare Recovery Centre to collect your pre-paid debit card)
• The Welfare Recovery Centre at Bushfires NT Headquarters is now closed.

You must provide:

• photo ID (e.g. drivers’ licence)
• proof of primary residence (recent rental agreement, rates notice, utilities bill, letter from employer)
• proof of family status (e.g. Medicare card or Centrelink).

If you don’t have your documents, Services Australia or Births Deaths and Marriages can help.

For re-establishment assistance and temporary accommodation reimbursement, applications will open shortly. In addition to relevant identification, you will also need to show proof of:

• income, for example, a payslip or Centrelink payment summary
• insurance status, for example, a document from your insurance company
• impact on your home, for example, photos of damages or quotes for repairs
• tax receipts made out in your name for temporary accommodation costs.

If you need help, please contact the Call Centre, 7 days a week, between 8am and 6pm on 1800 888 901.

Income limits apply

Both the temporary accommodation and re-establishment payments are means-tested, and income thresholds apply. Please see below for income thresholds.

Government recovery support

The DRFA also supports the NT Government and local authorities to undertake:

• counter-disaster operations
• debris removal
• emergency works
• restoration of essential public infrastructure.

Previous updates

• Update 2: 14 March 2026
• Update 1: 12 March 2026