Fund uses

An overview and details of how your fund can use money, along with information on what is excluded.

Last updated 28 July 2020

See also

Immediate relief

The kinds of immediate relief your ADRF can provide include providing money to:

relief organisations for immediate food, water, clothing, shelter and temporary accommodation such as at a hotel or in demountable buildings
individuals to enable them to secure these things for themselves where they do not have their own resources.

Providing money for long term relief

You may be able to provide money for long term relief, however you will need to assess whether a request for assistance relates to disaster relief or to some other ongoing need.

ADRFs will usually exhaust their funds on shorter term assistance. However, some disasters may result in the need for help longer term. Examples include:

providing money to disaster affected people still in temporary demountable housing following a summer disaster for additional assistance arising from the onset of winter
providing money to a charity to help people with serious injuries or children orphaned as a result of a disaster.

Proposals covering such longer term assistance should be discussed with us.

Qualified recipients of relief

You can provide relief to Australians who are affected by an approved disaster.

This includes people with insurance, as well as those who may have received help from other organisations. However, there are some things you might want to consider.

Recipients of relief with insurance

Subsequent to a disaster, repair and replacement costs may be higher than anticipated and many victims with insurance may still need relief. Therefore, you are still able to provide assistance regardless of whether they are insured.

Recipients who have received assistance from other organisations

Assistance provided by other organisations must be considered in assessing an individual's need of relief. For example, if another organisation has announced it is providing temporary accommodation for all disaster victims, an individual may not need such assistance from your fund.

Fund uses in detail

Grief counselling

Funding for grief or other counselling services is an acceptable use of ADRF money to relieve distress as a result of the disaster. It is possible the immediate family of disaster victims, even if they are not in the affected area, may also have suffered distress and need counselling.

Giving assistance to businesses

Depending on the circumstances, a fund may consider assistance to businesses as a means of relieving distress by re-establishing a community. Any assistance to business must have a charitable purpose.

Providing grants to primary producers for damaged infrastructure

Where fences border public land (such as public roads and verges) it may be a matter of public safety and community welfare to replace or repair the fences quickly. In this case an ADRF might fund urgent repair or replacement of such fencing.

Community building events

You can provide money for local social events and award presentations to assist in relieving distress resulting from a disaster.

Transport or store donated goods

You can use funds to arrange transport or storage of donated goods.

Helping community organisations rebuild after a disaster

Acceptable repair and reconstruction may include:

rebuilding community buildings such as aged persons homes, halls, churches and schools damaged by a flood
replacing disaster damaged equipment used by charities or for the charitable purposes of community organisations.

Preventing further danger from the disaster

Such relief could include:

building retaining structures to prevent landslides following the loss of vegetation
securing structures to limit damage if aftershocks follow an earthquake
preventing the spread of disease after a flood
fire-proofing or back burning to prevent further outbreaks in the disaster area.

Rehabilitation of public gardens or reserves

Where public open spaces have been destroyed in a disaster and this is causing distress to the community, your ADRF may help the community to re-establish such spaces. However, the funding of extensive remodelling, improvements, expansions or commercial elements is usually not appropriate.

Providing money for a commemorative memorial

Providing funding for a memorial to commemorate the disaster or victims of the disaster.

Funding education and disaster training

In the aftermath of a disaster, educating the community about reducing the impact or training on how to respond in a disaster is consistent with relieving people’s distress. However, your ADRF should only fund such activities in the short to medium term and should not fund such activities outside the disaster area.

Funding the removal of debris and the stabilisation of the environment

This will be considered having a charitable purpose where:

the removal of hazardous trees or other objects is well beyond the capacity of the responsible government to handle promptly
a hazard on private land may also create distress in the community and it needs to be removed
there is an immediate danger to the community.

Fund exclusions

Generally, ADRFs would not be used for the following activities.

Repairing damaged government infrastructure

Infrastructure such as public roads and railways is usually a government responsibility and as such funding their repair may not be an application of funds for a charitable purpose.

Replacing basic tools of trade

The immediate focus of ADRFs will usually be the domestic needs of individuals, so it is unlikely your fund will provide money to individuals for the emergency replacement of tools of trade damaged in the disaster. However, you may be able to in certain circumstances. You should seek our advice if you are unsure.

The care of animals

However, helping owners meet responsibilities for animals may be an appropriate use of ADRF resources.

Providing assistance to volunteers

However, recognition of volunteers through awards designed to recognise heroic or meritorious acts may be an acceptable application of ADRF money. There may be circumstances where a payment to relieve financial distress of a volunteer may be consistent with the purposes of an ADRF.

Developing disaster evacuation plans

Most places where disaster evacuation plans are appropriate have a duty of care to provide them.

Funding economic impact studies, business development planning or similar activities

Funding can be provided to studies and reports relating to economic impacts, prepare business development plans to assist in the re-building of the community.

Providing funds to sporting organisations to replace equipment damaged in a disaster

However, it is recognised that the provision, repair or replacement of community recreational or sporting facilities that are open to everyone may be consistent with charitable purposes. Also, a charitable ADRF may support charities where the encouragement of sport is wholly integrated with their charitable purpose. For example:

clubs wholly integrated in a school or university and furthering the organisation's educational aims
clubs that primarily use a game or sport to help rehabilitate the sick or relieve disability.

Helping employees of a particular employer

Whilst the benefits of the fund need not be available to everyone in a community, they must be available for an appreciable section of them. An ADRF that has been set up solely to help employees of a particular employer may have difficulty meeting the public benefit requirement.