Support for homeowners

The Resilient Homes Fund welcomes complaints, compliments or any feedback that will improve our services.

Support in your community

Download the Queensland Government’s Regional Community Support Services Brochures for key community services available in your area, including financial and emotional support.

You can also contact our Community Recovery Hotline 1800 173 349 for support including information on grants and how to apply.

Accommodation assistance

Housing Service Centres across Queensland provide a range of support including bond loans, rental grants and a RentConnect service.

Anyone needing housing assistance can contact their local Housing Service Centre or phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68) during business hours.  

You can also call the Homeless Hotline on 1800 474 753 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Legal help

Legal Aid Queensland provides free legal advice on a variety of matters. Visit the Legal Aid website to learn more about how they can help.

Financial relief

The Financial Information Service, provided by Services Australia, is a free service that provides informative guidance about financial matters.

Structural Assistance Grant

If you are living in an unsafe home, you can apply for a Structural Assistance Grant to make your home safe and habitable. This is a separate application process to the Resilient Homes Fund. Applying for a structural assistance grant will not impact your Resilient Homes Fund application.

Hardship certificate

Under the Resilient Retrofit and Home Raising programs, homeowners are required to co-contribute on a dollar-for-dollar basis for works above the threshold amounts ($50,000 for Resilient Retrofit and $100,000 for Home Raising).

How to apply for a Hardship Certificate

1. Submit your application for funding under the Resilient Homes Fund through the QRIDA portal
2. Check your eligibility for a Hardship Certificate
3. Collate evidence required for each registered owner of the property
4. Download and complete the Hardship Certificate application form (PDF, 363.5 KB)
5. Email your completed form and supporting evidence to RHF-HardshipRequests@epw.qld.gov.au.

The Resilient Homes Fund team will respond to your email if further information is required to assess your application. You can expect to hear the outcome of your application within 10 working days of submitting all required materials.

Contact the Resilient Homes Fund team by email resilienthomes@epw.qld.gov.au or phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68) if you require any further information or assistance to apply for a Hardship Certificate.

Eligibility criteria for a Hardship Certificate

To be eligible for a Hardship Certificate, all owners of the home (as listed on the property title) must show evidence of meeting one or more of the following criteria:

• you are in a low-income bracket*
• you have a financial hardship agreement in place with your lender
• you are receiving one or the following Centrelink pensions, allowances or payments;
  • Age pension
  • Carer Payment
  • Disability Support Pension
  • Job Seeker Payment
  • Youth Allowance
  • Parenting Payment Single
  • Low Income Health Care Card
  • Veteran Gold Card
  • Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card.
• In extenuating circumstances, a Hardship Certificate may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Refer to Extenuating Circumstances for further information.

* Refer to the household income brackets section below to check your eligibility. The calculation to assess the low-income bracket is based on the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). It is assessed on the total income of all registered homeowners at the time of lodgement of the RHF funding application.

Household income brackets

For the income limits below, a child means a person under 18 years of age who is financially dependent on an adult. If a person under 18 years of age is financially independent, they are considered an adult.

Household type	Income limit
1 adult – no children	$58,905
2 adults – no children	$81,441
3 adults – no children	$103,977
4 adults – no children	$126,513
Sole parent - 1 child	$81,498
Sole parent – 2 children	$101,039
Sole parent – 3 children	$120,580
Couple – 1 child	$100,982
Couple – 2 children	$120,523
Couple – 3 children	$140,064

To calculate eligibility for household types not identified above, the following calculation is used:

• First adult: $58,905
• First adult - sole parent: $61,957
• Each additional adult: $22,536
• Each child**: $19,541

* Gross yearly income is the amount of money you receive before deductions such as tax.

Extenuating Circumstances

For the purpose of assessing Hardship Certificate applications, an extenuating circumstance is defined as circumstance that is outside of a homeowner’s control, can reasonably be considered to have been unforeseen, and can be shown to have a direct and significant impact on their ability to co-contribute to complete their resilience works.

Extenuating and unforeseen circumstances may prevent a homeowner from paying the co-contribution amount.

Examples include:

• loss of employment due to factors beyond their control
• Significant personal/family circumstances affecting their ongoing financial status, which may include such things as victims of crime, or circumstances of domestic and family violence, supported by appropriate independent statements.
• serious illness affecting financial situation.

Note: regular financial commitments do not meet the threshold of ‘extenuating circumstances’ and are not considered unforeseen.

Providing evidence

All registered homeowners need to provide evidence of meeting one or more of the eligibility criteria as part of their application for a Hardship Certificate.

This information will be used by the Resilient Homes Fund team to accurately determine eligibility for a Hardship Certificate.

What type of evidence is required?

Supporting documents must be submitted for each owner of the home. Below is a list of documents that can be used to support your application.

IMPORTANT: Homeowners must remove their Tax File Number (TFN) from all documents before submitting their application.

Criteria	Evidence required Provide as many documents as possible that are relevant to you.
Demonstrate that they are in a low-income bracket * (evidence of income for all homeowners must be supplied)	Current Centrelink statement or correspondence Most recent Notice of Assessment Letter from employers detailing the annual income PAYG summary statements from superannuation funds PAYG summary statement from Centrelink PAYG summary statement DVA Statement of dividends or rents paid Business Activity Statement, Profit and Loss Statement and Annual Tax Return (for self-employed applicants) Confirmation of receipt of a grant from the Australian or Queensland Government as assessed through a means test and related to the 2021-2022 flood event (such as the Structural Assistance Grant)
Demonstrate that they have a financial hardship agreement in place with their lender	Copy of financial hardship agreement
Demonstrate that they are receiving one of the following Centrelink pensions, allowances or payments: Age Pension Carer Payment Disability Support Pension Job Seeker payment Youth Allowance Parenting payment single Low Income Health Care Card Veteran Gold Card Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card	Copy of concession card or Centrelink payment statement
Other extenuating circumstances to be assessed on a case-by-case basis	Statutory declaration Letter of support or evidence

Emotional and practical support

We know this can be a very stressful time for homeowners. Talking about what you are going through with your family and friends can be helpful. You can also get help from:

• Lifeline
• BeyondBlue
• Community Recovery Hubs
• Get Ready Queensland
• Australian Red Cross—returning home and coping after a crisis
• Mental health and wellbeing advice