2026 Victorian Bushfire Resources
Government information on relief and recovery supports
For the most up to date information, please visit the following websites:
- Vic Emergency Relief & Recovery website (Vic Emergency): Information about relief and recovery centres, community meetings, travel, finding somewhere safe to go, letting loved ones know you are safe, and other advice and support, including phone numbers for help lines.
- Help available for the January 2026 Victorian bushfires (Vic Gov): All current information about available assistance, including disaster payments, emergency accommodation, clean-up, financial counselling, mental health supports for farming communities, and more. Includes contact details for the Emergency Recovery Hotline (1800 560 760).
To have resources or information added to this page, please contact Lucy Manne, Disaster Resilience Policy Advisor at VCOSS, at [email protected].
Resources for community members
Emergency assistance and payments
Centrelink and Disasters – Tips and Common Issues (Social Security Rights Victoria): Information on disaster and crisis payments, Centrelink, and mutual obligations. Includes contact information for SSRV.
Emergency relief support (Australian Red Cross): Information on emergency relief payments for people on temporary visas, including how to apply.
Emergency assistance and accommodation (Disaster Legal Help Victoria): Information on emergency relief payments, financial counselling services, and short-term emergency accommodation. Includes contact details for Safe Steps (family violence support) and Department of Fairness, Families and Housing.
Replacing lost documents (Financial Counselling Victoria): How to replace lost or damaged identification documents (passports, citizenship certificates, driver’s licences, certificates from Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, damaged banknotes).
Insurance
Steps to take after a disaster to stay safe and start your insurance claim (Vic Gov): This webpage contains information about starting an insurance claim after a home has been flooded, but is also applicable to bushfire.
Practical information on what to do during and after a disaster (Insurance Council of Australia): A series of articles from the Insurance Council of Australia about insurance before and after a disaster.
Insurance law (Financial Rights Legal Centre): fact sheets to help answer insurance questions and concerns.
Legal assistance
Do you need legal help after a disaster? (DLHV): Web link, QR code, and phone number for Disaster Legal Help Victoria.
Disaster Legal Help (Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service): Contacts for assistance from VALS for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians. Includes a checklist of areas one may require assistance with (e.g., housing, debt, employment, insurance, etc).
Disaster support for renters (Tenants Victoria): Guidance around rights and responsibilities, and seeking legal support, for renters after a disaster.
Legal Health Check (Disaster Legal Help Victoria): Assists with the identification of legal needs and issues., with a corresponding resource for each legal area (e.g., safety, court, housing, insurance, employment, money, children, crime, legal documents).
Email [email protected] for further assistance.
Recovery and psychosocial support
Coping after a crisis (Australian Red Cross): What you or others might experience after a crisis, and how to manage it. Includes information about returning home after a crisis, cleaning up, maintaining wellbeing and staying healthy.
Dr Rob’s six tips for disaster recovery (NZ Red Cross): Dr Rob Gordon is a psychologist and disaster recovery expert. In this video he provides six tips to assist people in the immediate aftermath and months following a disaster. This video was recorded after the 2013 NZ earthquakes, but is applicable to all disasters.
Young People and Disasters Resource Hub (Youth Affairs Council Victoria): Bushfire resources for Victorians with disability, and resources for disaster preparation.
Blktrx service directory (VACCHO): Find culturally safe and responsive mental health, social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) and suicide prevention services to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families, communities and workforce across Victoria
For other support, please visit a recovery hub, call the numbers available on Vic Emergency’s website, or call the recovery line.
Emergency preparedness
Protect what matters most (Australian Red Cross): A disaster preparedness guide to help prepare an emergency plan.
Resources to help you (Australian Red Cross): A range of resources around how to help after a disaster, preparing for disasters, multilingual preparedness resources, responding to disasters, and recovering from disasters.
Health
Virtual women’s health clinic Free, specialist reproductive and sexual health care.
The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department Ambulance Victoria: The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department allows you to access care for non-life threatening emergencies, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will be connected to doctors and nurses via a video call and receive medical advice from the comfort of your home.
Family Violence
During the recovery phase family violence increases and services are harder to access. Family violence can happen to anyone.
Dial Triple Zero 000 if you are in immediate danger.
1800 Respect
- For people experiencing or at risk of experiencing sexual assault, domestic or family violence.
Call 1800 737 732 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Child Protection
For children and young people whose safety is at risk – after hours Child Protection Emergency Service.
Call 13 12 78 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 am Monday to Friday (24 hours on weekends and public holidays).
- Men’s Referral Service
The Men’s Referral Service is the national counselling, information and referral service for men who use violence and abuse to change their behaviour. They can have a conversation with you, help you with some short-term tactics and put you in touch with some supports that can help you along the journey.
Call 1300 766 491 available 24/7.
- Orange Door
The Orange Door provides help for adults, children and young people who are experiencing family violence.
- Safe Steps
For women and children who are victims of family violence.
Call 1800 015 188 crisis phone line 24/7.
- Sexual Assault Crisis Line
For victims of sexual assault.
Call 1800 806 292 after hours from 5:00 pm to 9:00 am (including weekend and public holidays).
Resources for community service organisations
Emergency management information for service providers from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH). DFFH’s website includes several key resources for community organisations:
o Social services sector emergency management policy;
o A guide to emergency psychosocial supports;
o Victorian Emergency Management Planning Toolkit for People Most at Risk; and
o Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) Toolkit.
Total fire bans and fire danger ratings (CFA): Includes current ratings and status of fire bans.
Relief and recovery
Disaster Legal Toolkit (Justice Connect Not-For-Profit Law): Guidance to help your not-for-profit organisation navigate disaster-related legal questions and issues.
Youth-Focused Disaster Recovery Protocol (Youth Affairs Council Victoria): This protocol has been developed for all levels of government and community services who engage with young people in disaster affected areas. It provides guidance on key matters for inclusion in post-disaster recovery and rebuilding to ensure positive outcomes for young people.
Bushfire safety and preparedness
Fire Safety for the Care Sector (CFA): Resources, links, and information community service organisations can use to enhance bushfire safety for clients.
Bushfire Preparedness (CFA): Slides, including info and links, on how to prepare for bushfire safety as a community service organisation.
Victorian emergency preparedness briefing for community and not-for-profit organisations (Emergency Management Vic): Slides, including info and links, on emergency management arrangements in Victoria, risks and priorities for the 2025-26 high risk season, relief and recovery.
Find your fire weather district (CFA): Map and search function for the nine Fire Weather Districts based on council boundaries.
Preparedness for the 2025-26 high risk weather season (VCOSS Disaster Resilience Network): Meeting recording, minutes and slides from the November 2025 meeting.
Victoria’s State Emergency Management Plan (Emergency Management Vic): Provides the details of emergency management arrangements at a state level.
Young People and Disasters Resource Hub (Youth Affairs Council Victoria): A range of resources to enable organisations to empower young people in bushfire recovery, including a guide to meaningful youth engagement, use of trauma informed language, and more.
East Gippsland Shire Council’s Community Recovery Toolbox provides useful information to support communities across East Gippsland. It will help local groups establish and build recovery processes before and after an emergency.
Reflections and Lessons Learned by the Community Recovery Committees (CRCs) of the 2019-20 East Gippsland Bushfires.
The Reflections and Lessons Learned by the CRCs report captures the experiences of the CRCs from the 2019-2020 black summer bushfires and what they thought worked well, opportunities for improvement, and what to pass on to help communities in future events.
Reflections and Lessons Learned – Executive Summary
VCOSS is the peak body for Victoria’s social and community sector, and the state’s premier social advocacy body.
We work towards a Victoria free from poverty and disadvantage, where every person and community experiences genuine wellbeing.
VCOSS acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country, and we pay respect to Elders and Ancestors. Our business is conducted on sovereign, unceded Aboriginal land. The VCOSS offices are located on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung land in central Naarm.