Flood victims in Queensland and NSW will have access to mental health support as the federal government warns of long-term trauma from the disaster.
A $31 million mental health package for flood-affected communities will include $10 million for the hardest-hit Lismore area specifically.
Health Minister Greg Hunt says the focus of support will be for children through the national youth mental health foundation Headspace.
But there will also be support for adults via the primary health network in each area.
"Any natural disaster can produce deep trauma, both temporary and long-lasting, and so that's why the early action is immensely important," he said on Friday.
Learning from the aftermath of the Black Summer bushfire disaster, Mr Hunt said the government is supporting community-led resilience and recovery programs.
Across the flood-affected zone, $3 million in community resilience grants will be made available.
A member of the Australian Defence Force helps with the flood cleanup in Lismore. Source: AAP / JASON O’BRIEN/AAPIMAGE
Mr Hunt says those therapies will provide better access to psychological support for people suffering from trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD or other related conditions.
But Labor leader Anthony Albanese criticised the government's refusal to extend disaster assistance payments to other shires affected by flooding.
"This crisis requires an appropriate response from the Australian government, a response that is as strong as the response and resilience that we've seen from the local communities themselves," he told reporters in the northern NSW town of Murwillumbah.
"The extra disaster assistance that is being given in Lismore is a good thing. There is no reason whatsoever why that shouldn't also apply here in the Tweed ... in Ballina and in Byron."
Meanwhile, Prince Charles has issued a message of support for flood-stricken communities, saying he and wife Camilla were "struck by the appalling images".
"These floods, along with the ferocious bushfires in Australia that shocked the world just over two years ago, remind us all that extreme weather events are becoming much more common," he said in a statement.
"Climate change is not just about rising temperatures. It is also about the increased frequency and intensity of dangerous weather events, once considered rare."
The government has been criticised for its response times in dealing with the flooding crisis but Defence Minister Peter Dutton said Australian Defence Force (ADF) troops could not have been deployed more quickly.
He told the Nine Network the government had people and assets pre-positioned and planners looked at the circumstances in Queensland and NSW to decide where they should be deployed.c
An aerial view of Lismore during the height of the flooding on Monday 28 February 2022. Credit: BRADLEY RICHARDSON/PR IMAGE
About 7,000 ADF troops will be in affected areas by Saturday night, with nearly 5,000 in NSW and 1,300 in Queensland already.
Defence personnel are conducting welfare checks, food distribution and helping with disaster-relief clean-up efforts.
So far, 490,000 people have claimed federal disaster payments worth more than half a billion dollars.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will meet with Governor-General David Hurley later on Friday to advise him on declaring the first national emergency.
The declaration will be made despite Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk indicating the state did not need the measure.
The prime minister said there had been a misunderstanding over the impact of the national declaration, which would have nothing to do with the flow of funding.
The national declaration allows the federal government to access stockpiled resources and remove red tape in terms of business and welfare support, he said.
It is the first time such a declaration will be made as the law only came into effect in 2020 following the Black Summer bushfires.
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