Government payments for bushfire victims are "seriously inadequate," the Australian Council of Social Service says.
The federal government has already paid out around $40 million in disaster assistance payments to more than 30,000 people, but advocates have raised the alarm over how much people are getting and how people are accessing the payments.
"Not only are the payments too low (Disaster Recovery Payment and Allowance) for many, we're very concerned by reports of people being denied payments because of incorrect information or because they have not been able to provide information due to the impact of the fires," Dr Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of ACOSS said.
"In this bushfire crisis, it is crucial that Services Australia and Centrelink prioritise getting assistance to people in need, whether or not they can meet the documentation requirements."
Dr Goldie has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for both the one-off disaster recovery payment and the ongoing disaster recovery allowance to be lifted.
The one-off payment is $1000, and $400 for each child in a family. Dr Goldie said the payment hadn't been increased in 14 years and should be $3000 and $1000 for each child.
The ongoing allowance is paid at the same rate as unemployment payment Newstart, on which social services and business groups have long been campaigning for an increase.
"$40 a day is clearly not enough to get through tough times," Dr Goldie said.
"Both the Disaster Recovery Allowance and the Newstart Allowance need to be urgently increased so that people can access the basics while they are going through a difficult time."
After reports some bushfire victims had been denied payments because out of date maps showed they hadn't been affected, the government apologised on Sunday.
Even those who didn't lose their houses in the fires are feeling the impact, with business owners in affected coastal areas reporting significant losses over a normally busy period.
Others have lost shifts when business has been slow.
"Increasing these allowances would help offset the negative economic effect of the fires in so many rural and regional communities, particularly those dependent on tourism," Dr Goldie said.
