Residents who have been left with "nowhere to live" in the Tweed, Byron and Ballina shires weren't included in an extension of payments announced by the federal government yesterday.
Premier Dominic Perrottet says 2,800 homes have been deemed uninhabitable and 5,500 were declared "damaged" by flooding in northern NSW.
Damage assessments are ongoing and Mr Perrottet said the numbers were "just the beginning".
The Premier's figures were a significant increase on those provided yesterday by Resilience NSW.
That organisation had assessed 3,200 homes as damaged in the state's north during the floods.
Resilience NSW assessed 451 homes in Lismore as severely damaged, 872 as moderately damaged and 211 as slightly damaged, while 52 non-residential properties have been damaged, two of which are completely destroyed.
More than 600 homes have been damaged in the Tweed Shire Council, 580 in the Ballina Shire Council area and 223 in the Byron LGA.
Despite those three areas recording more damaged homes than the Clarence Valley (16 homes) and Richmond Valley (192 homes) LGAs, they were not included in the Prime Minister's announcement of two extra Commonwealth disaster payments for flood-affected residents.
Speaking in Lismore yesterday afternoon, Scott Morrison said residents in the LGAs of Richmond Valley, Lismore and Clarence Valley would be able to access a further $2,000 for adults and $800 for children through an extension of the Disaster Recovery Payment scheme.
He's now flagged the government is considering what support might be offered to other parts of the region.
"Just like in any natural disaster, you define a couple of LGA's early on, the most impacted, and as the damage assessments come in you add to that list," Mr Morrison said.
"We're looking at other impacted areas in those districts to see how we might extend that support. I spoke to the Mayor of Ballina yesterday about those issues."
Federal Labor MP Justine Elliot, whose electorate of Richmond includes Tweed, Ballina and Byron, said she was appalled those areas had been left out of the extra payments.
"We have people that have nowhere to live, they have no food and they have no money," she said.
"I'm calling on the Morrison government to urgently extend it to us … I spoke to the Prime Minister this afternoon and I told him it was just horrendous we had been left off.
"I made it very clear how catastrophic this flooding disaster has been for our community."
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was fair payments targeted the Lismore area because it was the hardest hit
He dismissed suggestions government-held areas were being favoured as offensive.
"I would not be surprised if there was an immediate concentration on the city of Lismore because there's been, seen by not only the area, but by the nation as the epicentre, almost the ugly icon … of the devastation of this flood," he told 7.30.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Recovery and Resilience Agency said it was working with state governments to identify where additional support was required.
"The three LGAs identified as being most impacted takes into account a number of factors including the proportion of the population estimated to be in the flood area, the extent of the flood area, the percentage of the population who have sought assistance through the Disaster Recovery Payment and the number of residential homes that have been rated as moderately or severely damaged, or destroyed," the statement said.
"We continue to review our analysis as further impact data becomes available."
Housing package announced
During a press conference in the state's north today, Mr Perrottet announced a $551 million housing package that would be paid for equally by the NSW and federal governments.
He said it would provide 16 weeks rental support for people who need it, catering for up to 25,000 people.
Mr Perrottet said single-person households could receive up to $6,000 while larger households would be eligible for up to $18,000.
"Being border communities here that housing will be available in Queensland," he said.
"We're also providing support for pod-dwellings in the interim while people may be rebuilding.
"Mobile motorhomes will start coming up from the 13th of March.
"We're looking at longer-term and medium-term housing options, we've also through the Department of Communities and Justice purchased out many recreational camps in the northern rivers which has capacity for another 270 people."
Mr Perrottet added the amount available was double what had been provided in the past to account for the increased costs due to the significant demand.
Another $90 million has also been allocated to help with the clean up.
