Department of Children and Families

Immediate Relief Payments move to new location as flood relief rollout continues in Katherine

10 March 2026

Flood-affected residents in Katherine will continue receiving Immediate Relief Payments from a new location from 10am tomorrow (Wednesday 11 March), as the Northern Territory Government works to deliver the largest single disaster relief payment rollout the Welfare Functional Group has administered.

From 10am Wednesday 11 March, payments will be processed at the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre, LOT 3238 Stuart Highway, Katherine East, and will no longer be available from Katherine High School.

The payments are jointly funded by the Australian and Northern Territory governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) to support residents whose homes have been directly impacted by flooding.

Department of Children and Families CEO Brent Warren said the relocation would allow teams to process the large number of payments safely and efficiently.

“This is the largest Immediate Relief Payment rollout our Welfare Group has needed to administer in a single event, and our teams are working hard to ensure flood-affected residents receive support as quickly as possible,” Mr Warren said.

“We’ve moved the payment centre to the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre to help manage the high demand and ensure people can be assisted in an orderly and safe environment.”

Immediate Relief Payments provide $611 per adult and $309 per child, capped at $1,537 per family, to help households manage the immediate impacts of flooding.

Mr Warren said payments were being delivered in priority groupings to ensure the most affected households receive assistance first.

“We are asking residents to attend during their priority group allocation where possible so we can assist those most affected first and move through payments as quickly as possible.”

“We understand this has been a difficult time for many families and we thank the Katherine community for their patience as our teams work through the high volume of applications.”

Residents can attend the payment centre between 9am and 5pm on weekdays and will need to bring photo ID, proof of residential address and family status with them.

Priority 1: For Katherine residents whose homes have been inundated and are staying at an Emergency Shelter/Evacuation Centre - payments commenced 12 noon Tuesday 10 March.

Priority 2: For Katherine residents whose homes have been inundated and staying elsewhere - priority payments commence 10am Wednesday 11 March.

Priority 3: For Katherine residents staying at an Emergency Shelter/Evacuation Centre - priority payments commence 9am Thursday 12 March.

All other Katherine residents: payments commence from 9am Friday 13 March.

If you cannot get to the centre due to road closures, you will not miss out on your payment. Follow advice from Road Report NT before travelling.

For more information about disaster assistance and eligibility, visit SecureNT

Contact: dcf.media@nt.gov.au