Further support for flood-affected communities

Sunday 6 February 2011

The Victorian Government has announced a comprehensive package to support flood-affected communities.

The package will include:

• State Schools' Relief Flood Grants of up to $1000 per student per annum to cover the costs of books and uniforms, arranged through the school's principal
• drinking water and sanitary supplies for schools and children's centres where water supplies have been affected
• measures to ensure schools and kindergartens, where enrolments are affected in the short term, are not financially disadvantaged
• extension of the kindergarten fee subsidy to eligible families directly affected by the floods, therefore making kindergarten free for those families
• grants of up to $10,000 for early childhood services for clean-up costs and reinstatement of outdoor play areas
• $10,000 to enable maternal and child health nurses to provide families with safe nursery equipment where required
• co-ordination of psycho-social support services as part of the ongoing recovery process following a traumatic event, e.g. parent and teacher support material
• printed materials providing advice to schools and early childhood services to enable them to support affected children and young people, including guidance on issues such as how to talk to children who may be worried
• $500,000 to support rapid training to allow more people to quickly perform reconstruction and recovery tasks such as fencing, road building and signage in flood-affected communities
• advice and assistance for apprentices, parents and employers to help maintain and promote apprenticeships and traineeships in these areas.

The government is doing all it could to support flood-affected communities to ensure their long-term health and wellbeing.  They know many families have been doing it tough, and know from the Victorian bushfires that it's vital communities get strong support to assist them with the recovery process following a traumatic event.

To date the Victorian floods had affected one-third of Victoria.  Providing resources and support to families during this time is an essential part of the ongoing, long-term recovery process for school and early childhood communities.

The government will immediately make training in essential skills more accessible to ensure as many people as possible could quickly meet the needs of immediate reconstruction and longer term recovery at required standards.  $500,000 is available to enable people to complete a range of courses to deliver critical flood recovery skills, including construction, excavation, demolition, use of chainsaws, transport, plumbing and roofing.

Getting these communities back on their feet is our number one priority.  The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development continues to monitor schools, kindergartens, early childhood centres, Vocational Education and Training (VET), higher education facilities and community education providers affected by the flood waters in northern and western Victoria.

For more information on flood assistance go to www.education.vic.gov.au and for training go to www.skills.vic.gov.au