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Structural assistance grant

The Structural Assistance Grant (SAG) helps people who are uninsured, or unable to claim insurance, and who meet an income test, by providing a contribution towards repairs to their home to make it safe, secure and habitable following damage by a disaster.

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What the SAG is

Uninsured, low income, owner-occupiers may receive up to a maximum of $50,000 to help repair your home to make it safe, secure and habitable.

Who can apply

You must meet all these requirements:

  • the residential dwelling that you’re applying for a grant for must be within an eligible area affected by the disaster event.
  • you were living in the residential dwelling (which includes a caravan or boat) as your principal place of residence (main home) when the disaster happened.
  • your home sustained structural damage as a result of the disaster.
  • you own or have a mortgage on the residential dwelling. If multiple dwellings are on the same property and are not separately metered, we can assess them as separate households if you can demonstrate you live independently of each other.
  • you do not hold an insurance policy that covers you for expenses or losses sustained during the disaster.
  • if you hold an insurance policy:
    • you do not have coverage for a particular event (e.g. storm/flood) and/or
    • you have evidence that the insurance claim has been declined
  • you qualify under the income test outlined below.

We will send specialist assessors to your home to confirm it was damaged, destroyed or is unfit to live in as a direct result of the disaster and to assess the scope of works needed to return it to a safe, secure and habitable status.

Income test (how much you earn)

Your gross (before tax) weekly income must be less than or equal to:

  • individual: $1,133 ($58,905 per year)
  • couple: $1,566 ($81,441 per year)
  • sole parent, one child: $1,567 ($81,498 per year)
  • couple, one child: $1,942 ($100,982 per year).

For each additional child, add $376 per week.

For each dependent adult, add $433 per week.

Where a property is jointly owned by two or more people, the income test is applied to all title holders of the property.

What isn’t covered

You can’t apply to repair:

  • investment properties, such as holiday houses or rental properties.
  • structures that are not legally approved residential dwellings.
  • assets such as caravans, sheds and boats that are not your primary place of residence.
  • damage that existed before the event
  • property maintenance work.

How to apply

You can apply for this grant:

What you need to apply

You need to have:

  • date and details of the damage
  • either:
    • evidence from your insurance company confirming you do not have coverage for the particular event (e.g. storm/flood); or
    • evidence that your insurance claim was declined
  • evidence that you meet the income test at the time of the event (e.g. payslips, Centrelink benefit statement or Australian Taxation Office notice of assessment).

To complete your application, you will also need to provide evidence of your identity and place of residence. This can be:

  • Driver licence or other photo identification
  • Medicare card showing members of your family that you are applying for.

If you don’t have this information, you will need to provide other evidence that shows your name, date of birth and address.

For help with your application, call the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349 or visit a Community Recovery Hub or Support Services location.

How to replace lost or destroyed documents.

What happens next

When your application is complete, a member of the Community Recovery team will be in contact if further documents are required.

We’ll inspect your property to identify what is needed to make your home safe, secure and habitable. If you have also applied for an Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme grant, we’ll also do safety checks for reconnection of electricity, gas, water, hot water, sewerage services and septic systems.

We’ll then prepare a scope of works, including the estimated cost of repairs. The grant amount will not be more than the property’s pre-disaster value. Once the scope of works is approved, we’ll give you a copy and you may be asked to sign a statutory declaration before any funds are paid.

Once you receive the grant payment, you have 12 months to complete the repairs.

If approved, the grant is paid:

  • by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to the bank account listed in your application
    OR
  • directly to the licensed contractor or tradesperson completing the repairs.

Support with repairs

We’ll contact you regularly to see how your home repairs are progressing and if you need any more support.

If you need help to get quotes or contract repairers, call the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.

View a register of approved tradespeople.

Other assistance

You may be able to apply for other grants if your repair bills cost more than the amount of this grant.

If you can’t source the full amount of funds required to repair your home, you may be able to access financial counselling to help with budgeting and prioritising expenditure.

More information

Last updated:
6 March 2024
Last reviewed:
4 May 2022
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