Centrelink’s Dubbo Service Centre is opening its doors this Saturday to provide extra support to farmers in our severely drought-affected region.
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Specialist staff from the Department of Human Services will be on hand from 10 am to 12 pm to provide farmers with personalised assistance to complete their Farm Household Allowance (FHA) claim forms and to connect them with other services they may be eligible to access.
Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said Saturday’s event will be a valuable opportunity for farmers to learn more about the support on offer to help them through the hard times.
“Unfortunately the drought continues to bite right across my electorate, meaning it’s vital that farmers have a strong understanding of the assistance that is available to them,” Mr Coulton said.
“The FHA claim form was recently simplified and the easiest way to apply is online. I strongly encourage local farmers to gather their paperwork and go along on Saturday, to receive personalised assistance from specialist staff and have their FHA questions answered.”
In August, the Australian Government announced additional lump sum payments for FHA recipients to help them through this extraordinary drought.
Two lump sum payments are available for eligible households, worth up to $12,000. Payment of the first lump sum commenced from 1 September 2018 and the second payment is scheduled for 1 March 2019. Farmers and their partners can apply for FHA. However, farmers need to lodge a claim before December 1, 2018.