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2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires

This page provides information about support following the 2019-20 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

On this page

Recovery support

Rebuilding Support Service

The Rebuild Support Service (RSS) is a free one-stop shop that provides support to people who are rebuilding after the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires. It has been designed for you to access at any stage of your rebuild.

The RSS is delivered by East Gippsland Shire Council and Towong Shire Council and can offer you access to:

Contact details

East Gippsland Shire

Call 03 5153 9500 or visit the East Gippsland shire website.

Towong Shire

Call 1800 518 222 or visit the Towong Shire website.

Rainwater and septic tank replacement rebates

The Victorian and Australian Governments have these rebates available to landowners whose properties were destroyed or significantly damaged by the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

Learn more about the rebate guidelines, eligibility and apply at water.vic.gov.au.

Recovery services

You can access a general list of supports on our Recovery services, wellbeing and support page.

Recovery services, wellbeing and support

Find out more about the support, advice and counselling available as you and your family recover from storms, bushfires or floods.

Recovery progress

The 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires had a devastating affect on Victorian communities. Lives were lost, thousands were displaced and many communities were temporarily isolated.

There was significant damage to the environment, loss of and damage to significant cultural heritage and large numbers of deaths of wildlife.

Over 1.5 million hectares of Country were burnt in the fires – an area containing more than 1,000 registered Aboriginal heritage places.

Our organisation was established to coordinate Victoria’s recovery efforts and support community-led recovery in the affected areas.

Recovery progress snapshot

736 bushfire affected properties cleaned up

500+ bushfire hazard assessments completed

265 homeowners helped by the Rebuild Support Service

75,000 tonnes of debris removed

22 Recovery Committees established

Grants and programs

We coordinated a range of support programs and initiatives across our 5 lines of recovery:

We also rolled out a range of grants to address recovery needs. You can read more about the grants opportunities that were available, on our grants page.

Recovery Support program

The dedicated Recovery Support program linked individuals and families with support, including access to emergency accommodation.

Recovery support for Aboriginal Victorians

Following the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires, we implemented a dedicated line of recovery called Aboriginal Culture and Healing (ACH) to better support Aboriginal Victorians affected by disaster.

The ACH line of recovery guides us and our recovery partners to embed Aboriginal self-determination into their service design and delivery. This ensures that Aboriginal Victorians inform appropriate and targeted recovery responses.

In addition, an Inspector General for Emergency Management (IGEM) recommendation in relation to Aboriginal communities prompted us to develop and now implement the Strategy for Aboriginal Community-led Recovery. This strategy was informed through extensive engagement with Aboriginal communities affected by this bushfire event and subsequent flooding.

The 2019-20 related Aboriginal community engagement process was led by the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations. Read the Strategy for Aboriginal Community-led Recovery.

Short-Term Modular Housing program

The Short-Term Modular Housing program (STMH) was a temporary accommodation option for those who lost their primary place of residence in the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires. The program provided 82 safe and suitable homes to people while they rebuilt.

Read case studies from STMH recipients.

Community recovery hubs and committees

We partnered with the most impacted councils from the fires – those of East Gippsland, Towong and Alpine Shires, to support them to have the capacity and capability needed for local planning, coordination and support. We operated 8 Community Recovery Hubs to help people to access the services they needed.

We also established and facilitated 22 Community Recovery Committees so communities could plan and lead their own recovery.

State Recovery Plan

The State Recovery Plan sets out our comprehensive and coordinated plan for the recovery of communities impacted by the 2019–20 Eastern Victoria bushfires.

View the full State Recovery Plan below.

ERV Statewide Recovery Plan PDF 4.21 MB (opens in a new window)

Stories of community recovery

Read case studies about local communities who have taken a lead on their own recovery journeys following the 2019-2020 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

By listening to and learning from those who’ve experienced this event first hand, we can strengthen our support for community-led recovery.

Man in a green hat and brown shirt kneels as he holds a plant in demonstration to a large crowd of people

‘Fire for Food’ place-based training fosters healing on Country

The Black Duck Foods program harnesses the expertise of Aboriginal people in East Gippsland to teach about food production using traditional fire and land management practices.

Snap-happy children lead healing for the Sarsfield community

An uplifting photography project has helped the children of Sarsfield recover after the 2019-20 Eastern Victoria bushfires.

Mallacoota residents surfing the waves of recovery

Reclink Australia has been helping Mallacoota residents re-engage with their environment following the 2019– 2020 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

Building pride and resilience in Victoria’s north-east

LINE Wangaratta Pride Hub is part of the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE) REJUVENATE program. The program, designed to develop local leadership and accelerate rural entrepreneurship, received grant funding from Emergency Recovery Victoria after the 2019–20 Eastern Victoria bushfires.

Stories of Recovery – after the 2019–20 bushfires

To showcase the recovery progress of the past year we have developed Stories of Recovery.

Publication

Stories of Bushfire Recovery – Aboriginal Culture and Healing

We are working to embed self-determination into our processes for Aboriginal community-led outcomes at BRV.

Publication

After the flames – community reflections

Bushfire Recovery Victoria publication with community reflections from the 2019 to 2020 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

More case studies can be found on our Stories of community recovery page.

Resources

Publication

Rebuilding after bushfires

Rebuilding after bushfires is a guide to planning your rebuild

Publication

Understanding different steel framing standards

A fact sheet to better understand different steel framing standards for people considering residential building in bushfire prone areas

Planning and building permits

Find out more about the planning and building permits you need to rebuild after a bushfire, flood or storm.

Updated 2 October 2025

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