Territory Families is proud to acknowledge the hard work and dedication to the staff and volunteers who have assisted with the welfare recovery effort in the wake of Cyclone Marcus.

Territory Families is responsible for the Welfare Group within the Northern Territory Emergency Management response.  Our teams assist with outreach, recovery, evacuation and financial assistance and the Welfare Group coordinates this whole of government approach.

 
“The Northern Territory has experienced two emergency events this year with the Daly River Floods and Cyclone Marcus; our team has excelled every time in preparing for such events and assisting in the recovery phase.

 
“The Welfare Group team consisting of 100 Territory Families staff, other Northern Territory Government staff, and staff and volunteers from Non-Government Organisations have put in an excellent effort working tirelessly across the weekends and into the night.

 
“Our outreach and welfare recovery teams have handed out food parcels, fielded questions and processed applications for the immediate relief payments assisting people who lost electricity during Cyclone Marcus”, said Mr Ken Davies, Chief Executive Officer.

 
“We have received over 5,000 applications to date for immediate relief payments and we have worked through applications as quickly as possible, approving payments to over 1000 people so far.  We have 55 people from across Government working 8am to 8pm to process payments alone, the volunteer effort is truly commendable.

 
“Darwin really pulled together to help out as Territory Families staff members volunteered their time outside of their normal jobs to work with the Red Cross and other Non-Government Organisations to provide recovery assistance to Darwin households.

 
“The volunteers, who have been impacted by Cyclone Marcus themselves, have given up their weekends and worked 12-hours shifts to get the job done to support their fellow Territorians affected by Cyclone Marcus to get back on their feet again.”

 
Relief payment processing times are expected to speed up now, as most households are re-connected to power. 

 
The $250 initial relief payment is being processed first – if people are eligible for the second payment $400 this will be processed after the first.

 
People who have requested the payment in cash need to wait for a phone call to tell them the money is ready for collection.  The timeframe for when they receive the call is dependent on where they are in the payment processing queue.  People are kindly requested not to go to the bank to enquire about when the payment will arrive until they receive the call.

 
We encourage people to be patient before following up the $400 payment as the $250 is the first priority.

The relief payments forms are available for download from Secure NT here.

People are encouraged to email their application forms to TF.WelfareAssessment@nt.gov.au

A Recovery Assistance Hotline is still operating on 1800 700 250 (select option 4).

The hotline is open daily from 8am to 8pm (except over the Easter long weekend).

Territory Families media contact:

Hayley Palazzi
08 8999 2940