COVID-19: Overseas financial assistance

Be careful of scammers!

If you’ve registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and/or applied for financial assistance, we may call you to seek further information or clarification of your circumstances.

However, DFAT will never request payment over the phone or fine you for not providing information.

If you receive a call from someone asking for payment or saying you’ll be fined for providing inaccurate information, claiming to be from DFAT or another government agency, please hang up.

If you have concerns, email us at financial.assistance@dfat.gov.au or call the Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305.

For more information on scams, phishing, and how you can protect yourself online, visit Stay Smart Online – a program run by the Australia Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). To report scams, visit Scamwatch. For general advice on scams and what to do if you're a victim overseas, see our I've been scammed overseas page.

If you’ve been unable to return to Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions and are experiencing financial distress, you may be eligible to access financial support from the Australian Government.

The support comes in the form of both loans and grants. It aims to help cover living costs and/or a flight back to Australia.

Living costs

You may be eligible for a loan to help cover emergency living costs until a commercial flight becomes available.

  • If you’re an Australian pension holder, you may be eligible to receive a grant instead of a loan. This means you wouldn’t have to pay it back.
Table 1: Loan / Grant amount for living costs, based on family size
Immediate family size Loan/Grant amount

1

Up to $2,000

2

Up to $3,000

3

Up to $4,000

4

Up to $5,000

5 or more

By arrangement

All amounts are in AUD.

Flight back to Australia

You may be eligible for a loan to help cover part of the cost of a flight back to Australia. The loan amount is equivalent to a standard one-way economy class airfare from the region you’re in. See the table below for the amounts.

  • The Australian Government will pay for the difference between the economy class component and the remaining cost of the ticket.
  • If you’re an Australian pension holder you may be eligible to receive a grant instead of a loan. This means you wouldn’t have to pay it back.
  • Minors (child under 18 years of age) may also be covered by a grant, which does not have to be repaid.
Table 2: Loan/Grant amount for flights, by region
Region Loan/Grant amount

Central and South America

$2,000

Africa

$2,500

Middle East

$1,500

North America

$1,500

Europe (including UK)

$1,500

South and Central Asia

$1,000

South East Asia

$750

North Asia

$1,000

Pacific

$750

All amounts are in AUD.

The loans are only available as a last resort. You’ll need to meet strict eligibility criteria. Only those in genuine need will be provided financial support. You’ll need to demonstrate that you’re planning to return to Australia as soon as flights become available. All loans must be repaid.

Eligibility

You can apply if you:

  • are an Australian citizen
    • If you’re an Australian permanent resident, you may be eligible to receive funding if an immediate family member who is an Australian citizen applies on your behalf.
    • If the only Australian citizen in the family is a child, other links to Australia will need to be identified before a loan can be approved (e.g. Australian residential property).
  • are at least 18 years of age
  • have made all reasonable efforts to seek financial assistance through other means. You’ll need to provide evidence of this. See examples of documentation under ‘The application process’ section.

In addition, you and/or the immediate family member over 18 years of age you’re applying on behalf of, need to meet one or more of the following criteria. You:

  • are overseas temporarily and want to return to Australia urgently for medical or other reasons
  • are in financial distress as a result of the travel disruptions caused by COVID-19
  • require financial assistance to shelter in place until you can secure a seat, or purchase a ticket to return to Australia
  • are in a location with restricted or no available commercial airlines operating.

If you applied for a travel exemption after 29 September, you signed a declaration acknowledging the impact of COVID-19 on travel costs, and that you have the financial means to support yourself overseas should there be delays in your return to Australia. You’ll therefore need to show extenuating or compassionate circumstances emerged since you departed Australia to be eligible for financial assistance.

Check all other options for financial support first

Before you apply, you must confirm you can’t get financial support from anywhere else, for example through:

  • insurance company
  • bank or credit card company
  • travel agent or tour operator
  • family and friends
  • employer
  • local social security services
  • overseas pension

This information is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice. You may wish to seek independent personal financial advice specific to your needs from a licensed financial adviser.

The application process

  1. Complete the web form.

    You’ll need to attach:

    • a digital photo or scan of the photo page of your passport and those of any other family members you’re applying for.

    You’ll also need to back up with documentation any claims made in your application that demonstrate you and/or the person you’re applying for are vulnerable and in financial distress, for example by providing:

    • evidence of income/savings (e.g a copy of recent bank statement/s)
    • a letter from you or your family member/s' most recent employer confirming employment termination
    • evidence of previously purchased tickets or bookings, or communication with airlines showing your or your family member overseas has tried to return to Australia
    • evidence of accommodation costs
    • evidence that insurance won’t be covering costs
    • evidence of any Australian pension you receive
    • information about any medical condition you or your family members may have
    • any other information that would support your application

    Note: there’s a 10MB limit for all attachments per application, with a 5MB limit per document. If your documents exceed this limit, please email the documents to financial.assistance@dfat.gov.au after submitting your application and quote your passport number in the email subject line.

    Provide as much documentation as needed to support your application.

    Issues filling out the form

    If you have issues filling in the online form, you can download, print and fill in a document version of the form. You’ll then need to take photos or scan this, together with your attachments, and send to financial.assistance@dfat.gov.au

    For more information on filling in either of these forms, check our frequently asked questions page.

  2. Once you submit a completed application, you’ll receive an email response within 72 hours. If your application is approved and you are receiving a loan, you’ll be sent two forms – a Deed which constitutes a legal undertaking to repay the loan and – if approved for living costs funding – a form to confirm your Australian bank account details.
  3. Once we receive these forms back, we expect to be able to process your payment within 72 hours. Note that payment may still take several days depending on your personal banking arrangements. If you’ve applied for assistance with the cost of an airfare, we’ll pay for the airline tickets directly with the airline.   
  4. If we don’t approve your application, you’ll be notified by email.

How to repay

When you sign the Deed, you're agreeing to repay the loan within 6 months of your arrival in Australia, or to enter into a repayment plan within 6 months if you’re experiencing financial hardship.

We’ll send you a letter setting out guidelines for payment and the process for seeking to pay in instalments.

You may be unable to renew your passport until you have started repaying your loan. If you make no effort to repay your loan, the government may cancel your passport.

Questions or issues

If you have any questions about the financial support, read our frequently asked questions page.

Contact for urgent consular assistance

If you need urgent consular assistance, call the 24/7 consular emergency number on +61 2 6261 3305 or contact the nearest Australian embassy or high commission.

Registering with DFAT

You can register with DFAT if you've been trying to return to Australia and haven’t been able to do so.

Do not register if:

  • you’re currently overseas but don’t want to return to Australia
  • you’re currently overseas but aren’t planning to return just yet
  • you’re currently overseas but you don’t need help returning, or
  • you’re in Australia and plan to travel in the future. Subscribe for travel advice and news updates instead.

Registering doesn't guarantee we can facilitate your return to Australia. However, it does allow us to better understand who’s trying to return home and help us with our planning.

You don't need to be registered to receive consular assistance.

If you’re trying to return to Australia, we encourage you to:

Read more

See also