Are you seeking to help disaster-affected communities?

The Australian Government is thankful for the ongoing offers of help to assist with hardship and disaster recovery efforts across impacted regions.

The continued generosity from individuals, groups, organisations and domestic and global communities has improved the recovery effort.

The National Emergency Management Agency also appreciates your support and sharing of important information published on the Agency's social media channels.

When doing so, please ensure that you abide by the Agency's Moderation Guidelines as well as the Terms of Service of each social media platform.

Donations and charities

To help services deal effectively and efficiently with on-the-ground recovery, the Government recommends donations are made in the form of financial assistance.

In the aftermath of a disaster, it can be difficult for coordination services to manage the volume of goods and materials coming in. If you are donating physical items, please do it via a recognised portal like GIVIT to make sure your donation is not a burden.

If you are a registered charity with tax deductible gift recipient (DGR) status working to support disaster relief and recovery efforts, and do not appear on the list, you should contact Treasury.

I want to donate

You can visit the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) charity register to find a charity you would like to donate to and confirm that the charity is Deductible Gift Recipients (DGR) registered.

For a donation to be tax deductible, it must be made to a DGR – an organisation or fund that can receive tax deductible gifts. To check that the charity or DGR is legitimate, you can also:

search the ABN Lookup: Deductible gift recipients to confirm they have DGR status.

 

For more information see the ATO’s information about donations to help disaster victims.

 

I want to volunteer

Volunteering Australia has information for people who want to become volunteers. GoVolunteer also helps people to find volunteering opportunities that are available. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the volunteering organisations in your state:

The Centre for Volunteering NSW (02) 9261 3600

Volunteering ACT (02) 6251 4060

Volunteering QLD (07) 3002 7600

Volunteering SA & NT (08) 8221 7177

Volunteering TAS (03) 6231 5550

Volunteering VIC (03) 8327 8500

Volunteering WA (08) 9482 4333

I want to help wildlife

If you come across wildlife that has been injured or orphaned, follow the advice of registered wildlife carer organisations.

If it is safe, loosely wrap the injured animal in 100 per cent cotton fabric gently place it in a ventilated box and contact your nearest veterinarian or wildlife carer organisation.

You can visit GoVolunteer to see a list of contact details for animal welfare charities.

Bushfire rebuild portal in New South Wales

NSW Government has established a portal to connect individuals and businesses who can deliver goods and services to bushfire-affected communities. The purpose of this portal is to connect buyers with regional suppliers and vice versa.

The portal will assist buyers to give first preference to local suppliers based in affected regions—aiding local economic recovery.

Read more about the rebuild portal on the NSW Government website or call 1800 679 289.

Fraud and scams

Fundraising appeals often occur in the aftermath of a disaster. Unfortunately, some of these are scams.

Read more about identifying and reporting scams on our Fraud and scams page.