Victorian Treasurer John Lenders will be using a $10.4 million package to spur flood recovery efforts.

The interim response package allocates $5 million for restoring community infrastructure. The other $5 million will be used for business recovery.

The chairman of the Flood Recovery Ministerial Taskforce stressed that the funding will be for communities and businesses and not local governments. Lenders said, “Later on, when councils present their bills for the bridges, their bills for the roads, some of that infrastructure, we'll have a better idea of the total economic cost of the floods.”

More than 120 roads were closed due to rock falls, landslides, and damaged bridges.

Victoria Premier John Brumby said earlier, “The floods have caused significant damage to public and private assets across the state... This will be a multi-million-dollar clean-up, recovery and rebuilding effort and the Flood Recovery Ministerial Taskforce will ensure affected communities can recover as quickly as possible.”

The taskforce began work on September 7. Lenders and his team have inspected a number of communities since then, the latest being Creswick.

Brumby assured affected residents of emergency assistance grants of up to $1067. He said, “Means tested personal hardship grants had also been activated. These grants of up to $26,000 are to assist people whose homes have suffered significant structural damage, loss of contents and for extended temporary accommodation.”

Local government, the Department of Human Services, and Red Cross remain in flood affected areas to continue assisting flood victims.