Lifeline
24 hours, every day · text 0477 13 11 14 · chat at lifeline.org.au
Free24/7Australia
WHAT THE RESEARCH FOUND
THE FLOOD
WASN’T THE
WORST PART.
Researchers who surveyed households after the Northern Rivers flood found that an insurance dispute was linked to ongoing distress and depression more strongly than the flooding of the home itself.
McKenzie et al., “Insurance Issues as Secondary Stressors Following Flooding in Rural Australia”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022, vol. 19, article 6383 · 521 households surveyed.
BEING BUILT
A dispute like this runs in years, not weeks.
Your health has to outlast it.
That is what this page is for. Everything on it is free, and the people answering are used to hearing from people who never expected to call.
Right now
If you or someone near you is in immediate danger, call 000 (Australia) or 111 (New Zealand). Every service below is free, confidential, and used to hearing from people who never expected to be calling.
Suicide Call Back Service
24 hours, every day · phone, online chat and video counselling
Free24/7Australia
13YARN — for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
24 hours, every day · run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis supporters
Free24/7Australia
Why this page exists. Researchers who surveyed households in the Northern Rivers of NSW after the 2017 flood found that an insurance dispute was associated with ongoing distress and depression more strongly than the flooding of the home itself was. If the claim is doing more damage than the water did, that is not weakness. It is what the evidence says happens.
McKenzie et al., “Insurance Issues as Secondary Stressors Following Flooding in Rural Australia”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022, vol. 19, article 6383.
McKenzie et al., “Insurance Issues as Secondary Stressors Following Flooding in Rural Australia”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022, vol. 19, article 6383.
The money pressure
A stalled claim turns into rent on a second home, a mortgage on a house you cannot live in, and a builder who wants a deposit. Financial counsellors are free, independent, and know how to talk to insurers and banks. They are not debt collectors and they do not sell anything.
National Debt Helpline
Mon–Fri 9.30am–4.30pm Sydney time · online chat 9am–8pm · ndh.org.au
FreeAustralia
Good for: a free financial counsellor, hardship arrangements with your bank or landlord, and a plan while the claim drags.
Mob Strong Debt Help — for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Mon–Fri 9.30am–4.30pm Sydney time
FreeAustralia
Good for: free legal advice and financial counselling in one place, including home insurance.
MoneyTalks (New Zealand)
Free text 4029 · moneytalks.co.nz
FreeNew Zealand
Good for: a free financial mentor, and help with WINZ and hardship applications.
AFCA — if you are in financial hardship because of the dispute
Mon–Fri 9am–5pm · afca.org.au — financial hardship complaints
FreeAustralia
Good for: the umpire's own page on hardship. Tell your insurer in writing that you are in hardship; it changes what they are obliged to do.
Carers, and people with a disability
If the house you are fighting for was set up for someone's care, the claim is not about a building. Say so, in writing, early: insurers are bound by a code that requires extra care for people in vulnerable circumstances, and the umpire takes it into account. We are building a plain-language guide to that section; for now, the Insurance Law Service on the help directory can tell you how to put it.
What this page is not. We are a record and a signpost, not a counselling service. We do not take calls, and we will not see a message quickly. The numbers above will.