Mayoral Relief Fund for January 2026 Severe Weather Event

PLEASE NOTE:

Applications for this fund have now closed, but there is still the opportunity to help. Donations remain open and can be made to Western Bay of Plenty District Council's dedicated bank account below:

01-0434-0180600-000

Particulars: Name of the donor

Reference: Donation

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The Western Bay of Plenty District Mayoral Relief Fund is open for applications for assistance. The fund begins with an initial $100,000 contribution from central government, allowing Council to offer short-term financial assistance to households and small businesses experiencing urgent, unmet needs directly linked to the storm. The fund will close for applications on 15th February 2026.

The $100,000 provided to Western Bay comes from central government’s $1.2 million storm recovery support, announced for the six councils most affected by last week’s event. Each council has received $100,000, with the remaining $600,000 available through an application process.

Priority will be given to those households and small businesses directly impacted by the weather event for:

• Provision of essentials for daily life, transport needs and household contents
• Rebuild / recovery costs of building / infrastructure damaged by the weather event
• Essential items not covered by insurance or other funds.

Examples of how Relief Funds have been used

Government contribution to Relief Funds may be used to:

• deal with septic tank overflow
• fill water tanks
• clear debris from properties
• support individuals/families faced with hardships because of an emergency
• replace articles that cannot be insured by people – for example fences, footpaths etc.
• assist people with basic needs, clothes, bedding etc where the individual/family does not have the capacity to buy their own insurance cover.

Government contributions to Relief Funds must not be used to finance a local authority’s administrative / business costs, or replace other existing funding sources, such as:

• Welfare — Eligible costs are funded separately by the Government (for example, through the Ministry of Social Development)
• Infrastructure — The Government will meet some costs of essential infrastructure (for example, through Waka Kotahi)
• Insurance or costs covered by other funding sources
• Other response costs — for example, 60 per cent funded by the Government (above the local authority’s threshold) and 40 per cent funded by the local authority.

Factsheets for other existing funding sources listed above can be found on the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) website.