Severe Storm – Alice Springs
4:30pm Wednesday 14 October 2026
Disaster recovery assistance activated for Central Australia following severe storm
Disaster recovery assistance has been activated to support households, primary producers, non-profit organisations and recovery operations in Central Australia following the severe storm on 12 October 2026.
The support is being provided by the Australian and Northern Territory Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
The assistance covers the Alice Springs Town Council, MacDonnell Regional Council areas and Central Desert Regional Council areas.
Eligible residents and organisations may be able to access:
- Essential household repairs: a one-off payment of up to $16,901 per household to assist eligible owner-occupiers with essential structural repairs to their disaster-damaged home where insurance will not meet the repair costs.
- Freight subsidies for primary producers: assistance covering up to 50 per cent of eligible freight costs incurred as a result of the disaster, capped at $15,000, for items such as transporting emergency fodder, replacement fencing or replacement animals.
- Asset assistance grants for non-profit organisations: grants of up to $10,000 for organisations whose assets have been significantly damaged as a direct result of the disaster and which have no reasonable prospect of obtaining commercial finance.
The activated measures will also help Northern Territory Government agencies and local councils meet eligible costs associated with:
- Counter disaster operations: exceptional relief and recovery measures within affected communities that go beyond the capacity of the Northern Territory Government or local councils. This may include activities to make damaged properties or threatened homes safe and habitable.
- Restoration of essential public assets: repairing or restoring eligible essential public assets and infrastructure damaged directly by the disaster to their pre-disaster standard. This also includes immediate emergency works, such as debris removal and temporary repairs, to make eligible assets operational.
$250 support for households affected by prolonged power outages
The Northern Territory Government will provide a one-off $250 power outage payment to eligible households in Alice Springs that have been without electricity for more than 72 consecutive hours due to the October 2026 severe storms.
The payment will be provided via a pre-paid card to help households help families replace spoiled food and manage some of the immediate costs of the storms.
Applications will be available from the Department of Children and Families Welfare Recovery Centre.
Representatives from Power and Water will work alongside recovery and welfare staff to verify affected properties.
Eligible Local Government Areas
Affected households must be in the following local government areas:
- Macdonell Regional Council
- Alice Springs Town Council
- Central Desert Regional Council.
Welfare Recovery Centre
The Department of Children and Families will open a Welfare Recovery Centre from 2 Railway Terrace Alice Springs.
Applications for financial assistance will not be available until 9am Friday 16 October.
Opening hours:
- Wednesday 14 October: 2pm to 4pm
- Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 October: 9am to 4pm.
Services available from the Welfare Recovery Centre include emergency relief vouchers, links to counselling and supports, psychological first aid and food hampers:
- Department of Children and Families
- Power and Water
- Foodbank
- Australian Red Cross
- Salvation Army
- Mission Australia
- Services Australia
- Lutheran Care
- Department of Housing, Local Government and Community Development.
Financial support available to affected households
$250 Power outage payments
Households in Alice Springs that have been without power for more than 72 consecutive hours due to the October 2026 severe storms may be eligible for $250. Payments are to help families replace spoiled food and manage some of the immediate costs of the storms.
Eligibility criteria and how to apply:
- limit of one payment per household
- your household must have been without power for 72 hours or more consecutively as a result of the October 2026 severe storm damage
- you must provide proof of identity
- you must provide proof of your residential address which matches power and water records.
Payments will be made via a pre-paid debit card.
Re-establishment payments for homes damaged by the storms
Up to $16,901 will be available for eligible households damaged during severe storms in Alice Springs.
Eligibility criteria apply including:
- payments are means tested and subject to household income limits
- the damaged home must be your principal place of residence
- you must be the owner of the property (tenants are not eligible)
- damage must not already be covered by relevant insurance
- a structural assessment will be required before applying
- proof of damage including photographs and video footage should be retained and provided with your application
- limit of one payment per household
- you must provide proof of identity
- you must provide proof of your residential address.