Their tireless efforts assisted the community from the initial loss to the long-term recovery.

St Agnes' Catholic Parish Flood Recovery Group was recognised with the Community Group of the Year honour in the 2022 Port Macquarie-Hastings Council Australia Day Awards.

Peter Johnson, who spoke on behalf of the group, said it was a real honour for St Agnes' Catholic Parish to receive the Australia Day award.

"It is only just 10 months ago that our region was hit by the worst floods in living memory and unfortunately the consequences of those floods have had and continue to have long-term impacts on individuals and families in our region," he said.

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Mr Johnson said identifying a need and doing something about that was at the core of St Agnes' Catholic Parish and they were very fortunate to be part of this community that constantly rallied to support those in need in times of crisis.

"This award is to share among the many staff and volunteers across the parish who helped people through the initial loss of their homes, through the back-breaking clean-up and the long-term recovery process," he said.

Mr Johnson said it was also testament to the resilience of those affected by the floods and the willingness of not-for-profit organisations and all levels of government to work together.

St Agnes' Catholic Parish Flood Recovery Group helped the community in a range of ways.

The Francis Retreat was repurposed as an evacuation centre under the control of NSW Disaster Relief and was home to about 70-plus displaced residents from Laurieton and Dunbogan.

The Francis Retreat managers and staff were adaptable and responsive to the immediate need for food, accommodation, respite, pastoral care and connections to other government and community services.

The aged care services at the St Agnes' site in Lochinvar Place were able to accommodate six displaced elderly residents with varying health issues from the local hospital.

Crews of both employees and volunteers assisted with several home cleans over two weekends at Riverside Residential Village on Hastings River Drive and Brigadoon Caravan Park in North Haven, as well as in the residences of those in the parish community, including employees, that were impacted.

The St Agnes' Parish Pop-Up Pantry provided non-perishable food and other supplies such as blankets, linen and towels.

Six independent living units in the retirement village at St Agnes' Village and a Church Street community housing residence were refurbished using donated furniture to accommodate displaced residents from Riverside Caravan Park and Brigadoon Caravan Park.

Help was directly provided to flood-affected residents through school fee assistance, uniform assistance, accommodation where possible, food and clothing vouchers, repairs and maintenance and other needs as required.

In June, the parish signed a funding agreement with Resilience NSW to establish a Recovery Support Service.

The holistic case management service helps residents and communities recover from flooding.

As of November 2021, the service has helped 269 individuals or family groups and this support continues at a rate of 30 to 40 cases a month.

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