If you were unable to work during Queensland’s most recent lockdown, you may be eligible to receive the COVID-19 Disaster Payment Queensland.  This is a lump-sum payment for eligible people who lost work and income while the public health order was in place between 31 July and 8 August 2021.

Who is eligible to receive the COVID-19 Disaster Payment?

You must meet all of the following eligibility rules to receive the COVID-19 Disaster Payment – Queensland.  You can get it even if you were eligible on only one day during the payment period.

You are eligible if you meet all of the following rules:

• you’re an Australian resident or hold a visa giving you the right to work in Australia
• you’re 17 years or older
• you didn’t get an income support payment, Dad and Partner Pay, Parental Leave Pay, Education Allowance or ABSTUDY Living Allowance during the same period
• you didn’t get the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, a state pandemic payment or a state small business payment for the same period
• you lost income and didn’t have any pandemic-related paid leave entitlements
• you lived in, worked from or visited a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot that is subject to a state restricted movement order
• you have been unable to earn your usual income of 8 hours or more, or a full day’s work because you were in the COVID-19 hotspot and were subject to restricted movement.

There are two relevant periods you can apply for:

• 1 August to 7 August 2021
• 8 August 2021.

Important notes to remember:

• If you’re a member of a couple, you can both claim this payment. You and your partner will need to make separate claims.
• If you’re a sole trader, you should check to see if you’re eligible for your state or territory’s COVID-19 business support payment first.
• You can only get the COVID-19 Disaster Payment or a state or territory business support payment per relevant period, not both. You need to decide which payment is best for you.

These are the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Queensland affected by the applicable public health order:

• City of Brisbane
• City of Gold Coast
• City of Ipswich
• Lockyer Valley Regional Council
• Logan City
• Moreton Bay Region
• Noosa Shire Council
• Redland City
• Scenic Rim Regional Council
• Somerset Regional Council
• Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

If you visited any of these LGAs during the relevant periods and were then subject to a restricted movement order as a result, you may also be eligible.

How much am I eligible to receive?

The amount you receive will depend on all of the following:

• the location of the health order
• the period you’re claiming for
• the hours of work you lost.

You’ll get the appropriate payment amount for each payment period you’re eligible for.  These payments have been legislated as tax-free.

The following table shows the amounts for each payment period.

A full day of your usual work is what you were scheduled to work but could not because of a restricted movement order. This includes not being able to attend a full time, part time or casual shift of less than 8 hours.

You can still claim this payment for work and income lost during the lockdown even though the public health order has now been lifted.

How do I make a claim?

If you’re an Australian resident, follow these steps to claim.

1. Get ready to claim

Australian residents must claim online. To claim online, you need a myGov account linked to Centrelink.

If you don’t have a myGov account, you’ll need to create one.

If your myGov account isn’t linked to Centrelink, you can prove who you are through myGov to link Centrelink.

2. Link Centrelink to your myGov account

You’ll need to link Centrelink to your myGov account. How you do this will depend on if you’ve claimed a payment from us before.

If you’ve claimed a payment before
If you’ve claimed a payment before, you can use your Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN) to link Centrelink to myGov. You’ll also need to answer some personal questions.

If you haven’t claimed a payment before
If you haven’t claimed a payment from us before, you’ll need to prove your identity online using myGov.

3. Make your claim

Follow these steps to make your claim:

1. Sign in to myGov and select Apply for support from the Government support for coronavirus alert.
2. Under Affected by coronavirus (COVID-19), select Get started.
3. Select Apply for COVID-19 Disaster Payment.
4. Answer the eligibility and claim questions.
5. Submit your claim.

What if I receive income support from Centrelink already?

If you already receive a payment from Centrelink, you are entitled to receive the COVID-19 Disaster Payment, however the eligibility rules are different.  Learn more here.

When can I apply?

Applications are open now via your MyGov account.

More information

If you need more information about how to claim, watch this video.