Help is on its Way.

Students living in Sydney with a disrupted workweek will now receive the COVID disaster payments.

The government has increased the payments for all eligible persons by an extra $150 if they have been affected by the fire for at least 20 hours. They will also receive an additional $75 if they have lost fewer than 20 hours. These payments are compliments of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Australian government.

The COVID-19 disaster pays $750 a week for people who have over lost over 20 hours per week and $450 for those who have lost under 20 hours per week.

If you are a member of a couple, both of you can claim this payment. You will need to make separate claims, though. If you're eligible for this payment under only one day of COVID-19 in a period of restricted movement/lockdown, that's fine too.

Payments would be made on a "week-by-week basis" If the lockdown goes beyond two weeks, people will have to reapply every week for the weekly payment for as long as the lockdown lasts.

As an international student, are you eligible for this payment?

Yes! You are eligible for the payment as long as:

• If you have ab eligible working visa holder
• You are aged over 17 years old and living in a Commonwealth-defined COVID hotspot area
• You would have worked if the lockdown had not happened and therefore lost income
• You don't have access to special pandemic/sick leave
• You have less than $10,000 in "liquid assets", for example, savings, shares, or loans
• You are not on any income support payments from the Commonwealth, e.g. JobSeeker

How do I apply?

Call Services Australia on 13 77 88 for NSW Government Disaster Relief Grants as an eligible visa holder. You can call Services Australia's Multilingual Phone Service on 131 202 to speak to someone in a language other than English.

You do not need to have a myGov account or contact Centrelink as an international student when applying for this payment.

Other NSW government support for international students

The NSW Government is supporting international students in NSW during the COVID-19 pandemic with:

• free food hampers through the Study NSW and Foodbank partnership
• free legal support through the International Student Legal Service NSW and My Legal Mate digital platform
• mental health and welfare support.

To find out about other support services available to international students in NSW, visit the Study NSW COVID-19 Help Hub. The latest federal government COVID-19 announcements, news, updates and advice are available at COVID-19 International Student Support and Welfare.