Payment and claiming - Victorian Bushfires January/February 2009

A payment of $5,000 is available for funeral/memorial and any related costs for the immediate families of individuals who have died in the Bushfires in the State of Victoria that commenced 29 January and may continue into March 2009.

An individual is eligible for funeral/memorial assistance if the individual is:

• either:
  • an Australian citizen or resident, or
  • a foreign national, living or working in Australia at the time of the disaster
• the immediate family member of an individual who has passed away or is declared missing, and
• the closest family member to make a claim for the assistance in respect of the disaster, and
• able to demonstrate that the deceased died, or was declared missing, as a result of the disaster.

For the purpose of the funeral/memorial and related costs assistance, a "foreign national" is an individual who is:

• any class of permanent visa and has not yet met the residency waiting period
• a temporary skilled class visa
• any New Zealand national on a temporary visa, or
• a temporary family class visa.

The closest family member can be any one of the following:

• the person's partner
• the person's natural child, adoptive child or stepchild
• the person's natural parent, adoptive parent or step-parent
• the person's legal guardian
• the person's brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister.