QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Disaster Assistance Loans Now Available for North Queensland Small and Family Businesses Financial assistance is now available for small and family businesses impacted by recent heavy rainfall and severe flooding in North Queensland.
Disaster Assistance Loans and Essential Working Capital Loans have been activated for businesses in Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook, Palm Island, Townsville, and Yarrabah local government areas.
These loans are designed to support small and family businesses to re-establish operations relating to:
✔ Repairing or replacing damaged plant and equipment
✔ Repairing or replacing buildings
✔ Restocking inventory to resume operations
Eligible small and family businesses can apply for:
• Disaster Assistance Loans – Up to $250,000 to support essential recovery efforts
• Essential Working Capital Loans – Up to $100,000 to assist with immediate operational costs, including wages, rent, and creditor payments
We know this is a challenging time for small businesses, and we are committed to supporting your recovery.
To apply visit the QRIDA website at www.qrida.qld.gov.au or call 1800 623 946.
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
MORE FLOOD AFFECTED NORTH QUEENSLANDERS TO ACCESS DISASTER RECOVERY ALLOWANCE
The Albanese Government is extending financial assistance to more communities in North Queensland affected by flooding and heavy rainfall through the Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA).
The DRA will be extended to the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Carpentaria, Cook, Croydon, Douglas, Flinders and Wujal Wujal. DRA is available to individuals who live or work in the declared LGAs and have lost some or all of their income due to the disaster.
To be eligible for DRA, a person’s income must have fallen below the average Australian weekly income as a result of the floods. As at 11 February 2025, Services Australia has paid out more than $2 million in Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and DRA support to affected people in North Queensland.
Before they claim, people can check their eligibility on the Services Australia website at: www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/disastersupport
The quickest way to claim is online through myGov. If people need help to claim, they can call the Australian Government Emergency Information Line on 180 22 66.
To change or pause Centrelink debt repayments, affected people can do so online or in the mobile app (through the Money you owe service), or they can call 1800 076 072.
FURTHER INFORMATION FOR AFFECTED LIQUOR AND GAMING LICENSEES FROM QUEENSLAND OFFICE OF LIQUOR AND GAMING REGULATION (OLGR)
The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) is ready and available to assist affected licensees in managing their regulatory requirements during the recovery period.
Please review the below information and contact us if you’d like require further advice about your specific situation.
Applying for temporary approval to trade from another area
If your licensed venue is partially or wholly destroyed, or so badly damaged that it is unsuitable to conduct business from, you may be able to apply for a temporary authority. This authority allows a licensee to use another part of the venue or a neighbouring premises to continue trading during this time.
For more information, please contact OLGR Licensing at OLGRlicensing@justice.qld.gov.au or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68).
Monthly gaming tax
Gaming machine tax collection is due on the 10th of each month (or the next business day if that date is on a weekend or a public holiday). If your business has been affected by a natural disaster your payment may be deferred until your premises is operational again.
If you have concerns regarding upcoming monthly gaming tax collections, please contact OLGR Finance at olgrfinance@justice.qld.gov.au or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) to discuss.
Disconnecting/reconnecting electronic gaming machines
You may disconnect and remove electronic gaming machines (poker machines) in emergencies if they are damaged, or at risk of damage. At a later date, you will need to apply to OLGR for approvals to disconnect or dispose of those machines.
A gaming machine that has been exposed to water should not be reconnected/powered up until it has been certified by a licensed electrician as being safe to do so. We recommend you contact your licensed monitoring operator regarding this.
For advice regarding gaming machine technical issues, please contact the Gaming Services Branch Technical Unit at olgrnotify@justice.qld.gov.au or phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68).
Compliance concerns and replacing official documents
Please note that OLGR compliance officers will exercise discretion during any visits and inspections of licensed venues affected by the North Queensland flood event.
If your licence or permit documentation has been destroyed or misplaced during the disaster, please contact OLGR licensing at OLGRlicensing@justice.qld.gov.au for a replacement licence.
Other items required to meet compliance requirements may have also been damaged or destroyed. These include (but are not limited to):
• RSA/RSG/RMLV certificates
• incident registers
• risk-assessed management plans (RAMP)
• exclusion registers
• gaming machine records
• internal and external signage.
We understand these may take some time to replace, but ask you to take reasonable steps to replace any damaged items as soon as practicable.
If you are concerned about being able to meet any of your legislative compliance requirements, please email us at gamingcompliance@justice.qld.gov.au or liquorcompliance@justice.qld.gov.au or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) for advice.
Queensland Government assistance available for businesses
Business Queensland has a range of resources to help businesses prevent, prepare, respond to and recover from a disaster or emergency.
They also provide the latest emergency alerts and warnings, and information on natural disaster assistance relief for businesses.
For more information visit, www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/natural-disaster/disaster-hub/flood.
Food and alcohol safety in an emergency
Following a natural disaster, there may be some food in your business that is not safe to eat. Queensland Health has advice about food safety and cleaning after a disaster.
They suggest that you dispose of any stock that has been exposed to power outage or floodwater, due to the risk of contamination by sewage or pathogens. You should also dispose of canned food where the can is open, swollen, damaged, or has a missing or damaged label.
If benchtops, food utensils or kitchen equipment have been in contact with contaminated floodwater it is important to clean and sanitise the area.
How to contact OLGR
For the latest updates, follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/qldolgr
For more information, visit our website www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/hospitality-tourism-sport/liquor-gaming or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68).
To contact our business areas email:
• Licence and permit enquiries: OLGRlicensing@justice.qld.gov.au
• Liquor compliance enquiries: liquorcompliance@justice.qld.gov.au
• Gaming compliance enquiries: gamingcompliance@justice.qld.gov.au
• Gaming machine technical issues: olgrnotify@justice.qld.gov.au
• Finance enquiries: olgrfinance@justice.qld.gov.au
We are thinking of all licensees, their families and staff who are faced with the challenges of this natural disaster during this time.