Emergency relief

In financial crisis and need help now?

Meli’s emergency relief program helps low and fixed-income individuals and families who need assistance quickly. We can help with:

short-term financial relief – like food vouchers and bill payments
referrals to financial counselling services and other services you may need

We’re currently providing phone appointments and contactless support.

Who is it for?

Greater Geelong, Colac/Corangamite, Glenelg/Southern Grampians, Warrnambool

Families

No referral required

How to access this service

Intake for appointments takes place over the phone at 9am on Mondays, or 9am on a Tuesday if the Monday is a public holiday.

To obtain an appointment, please call Meli at 9am on any given Monday. Please note demand for emergency relief is high and appointments are limited.

You must also provide proof of ID such as a driver’s licence or a Centrelink concession card to obtain emergency relief support. Please email emergencyrelief@meli.org.au

Please contact our team:

Phone:        (03) 52788122

Frequently asked questions

At your appointment, we will:

talk with you about your circumstances and what financial difficulties you’re experiencing
discuss emergency relief support we may be able to provide – things like supermarket vouchers and help with household bills
connect you with other services that may also be helpful, like financial counselling

You must also provide proof of ID such as a driver’s licence or a Centrelink concession card to obtain emergency relief support. Please email emergencyrelief@meli.org.au

The demand for our emergency relief program is high and we ask that you only use this service in urgent situations. The program is designed to assist you once every six months. This will take effect starting from 1st January 2025. If you need ongoing support, we can help connect you with other services like financial counselling services, government concessions and grants, as well as other organisations that offer emergency relief and food relief.

In our program we offer supermarket vouchers and help with overdue bills that you’re having difficulty paying. If you have other financial commitments that you can’t pay, ask us when you get in touch and we’ll let you know what we might be able to do to help.

Yes, definitely. We will make a time to call to speak with you over the phone. We can provide our emergency relief support remotely too – including sending supermarket vouchers to your email or phone. If it’s a bill, you can send a photo from your phone to us, or we’ll find a way that works best. Our focus is on providing remote help however we can.

Get in touch and we’ll speak with you about your circumstances and financial difficulty. Not having a Centrelink benefit or Healthcare Care Card doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t help. If it’s urgent, we’ll do our best to help however we can.