Volunteer firefighters battling long-running NSW blazes could receive up to $6,000 in financial support for their efforts.
The federal government on Sunday bowed to pressure to provide payments to those on the firefront this bushfire season, which in NSW has already cost eight lives, as many as 1,000 homes and millions of hectares of bushland.
The payments of up to $300 per day will be available to Rural Fire Service NSW volunteers who are self-employed or work for small and medium businesses.
Firefighters hose down a burning woodpile during a bushfire in Werombi, south-west of Sydney.
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They will be capped at $6,000 per person and are tax-free.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the payments would be equivalent to 20 days of emergency leave for the eligible volunteers.
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It follows the government's announcement last week that Commonwealth public service volunteers would get at least four weeks of paid leave to fight bushfires under a plan to ensure more "boots on the ground".
"We have carefully worked through how best to deal with the issue of income loss that has been suffered as a result of people stepping up to defend their communities," Mr Morrison told reporters at the Rural Fire Service NSW headquarters in Sydney on Sunday.
"This basically equates to around 20 days of emergency services paid leave for self-employed people and for people working for small and medium-sized employers."
The federal government would cover the payments, which would be administered through the NSW government.
Canberra has invited other states and territories to enter a similar payment scheme, but this has not yet been taken up.
The Morrison government has announced that rural New South Wales fire service volunteers will be compensated for loss of income, after weeks of pressure.
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"The early and prolonged nature of this fire season has made a call beyond what is typically made on our volunteer firefighters," Mr Morrison said.
The president of NSW's Volunteer Fire Fighters Association, Mick Holton, last week said members have racked up expenses, including on petrol spent driving to fire fronts, and been forced to crowd-fund for smoke masks.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the payment was compensation for firefighters' efforts.
"We want to ensure that nobody goes backwards and suffers unnecessary hardship because they are putting their life and property on hold to support others," she said.
Almost 110 fires were burning in NSW on Saturday, including large blazes ringing Sydney at Gospers Mountain and Green Wattle Creek.
Difficult NSW bushfire conditions are set to return over the coming days, with RFS crews staying in the field to battle fires.
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Fire conditions are expected to again deteriorate in the coming week amid rising temperatures and dry winds, peaking on New Year's Eve.