Thelma Murphy's home in a caravan park in Chinderah on the New South Wales far north coast has long been her haven.
That was until last year's recording-breaking flood devastated the close-knit community.
"It went over my shoulders and I'm five foot four, so it was pretty devastating," she said.
The floodwater caused extensive damaged to her two-bedroom home which was built around a caravan with a permanent annex and seven rooms in total.
Ms Murphy received the $20,000 Back Home grant and also applied for the Disaster Relief Grant which helps low-income residents restore their homes to a safe and habitable condition following a disaster.
"I was assured that I qualified to get my home repaired, not better, but the same as before," she said.
A report by the Johns Lyng Group (as part of the NSW Flood Property Assessment Program) put the bill for essential structural repairs of Ms Murphy's home at $48,923.60.
But after months of building assessments, the NSW Reconstruction Authority said her property was not eligible for the Disaster Relief Grant because it was a caravan.
"The structural grant was approved pending assessments from Johns Lyng Group and Public Works to ascertain the repairs required to your home," the letter from the NSW Reconstruction Authority said.
"The assessments confirmed your property is a caravan and therefore not eligible for repairs under the Disaster Relief Grant program."
Ms Murphy said she was devastated and could not understand why people whose homes were once caravans were being treated differently.
"I would like to know why. Because my home was once a caravan am I deemed less worthy? And other people in these parks deemed less worthy than if I had a normal house?," she said.
"They're our homes. They're our castles. It's where we live. We don't deserve this treatment."
Concerns issue is widespread
It is a question that has been bothering Chinderah flood recovery volunteer Sandy Gilbert.
"I don't think it's fair. I think everyone should be treated equal," she said.
Ms Gilbert estimated there were 1,200 caravan residents in Chinderah affected by last year's flooding.
She said she does not think Ms Murphy's situation would be an isolated case.
"We're not sure how many other people have had this knock-back," she said.
"We're just starting to hear about it … (but) we believe that there are a lot of other people out there."
Ms Gilbert said the caravan park residents had to fight to receive the Back Home grant, but the bureaucracy was taking a toll.
"We had to fight to have that reversed, which was great … [but] I'm finding it's hard now and I'm sad and disappointed that the residents have got to turn around and fight again," she said.
"They haven't got any fight left in them.
"They're very vulnerable, a lot of elderly, a lot have a lot of medical problems.
"Their home's their castle and they live in a community, and they want to stay in that community."
Caravans and mobile homes included
In a statement, the NSW Reconstruction Authority said caravans and mobile homes were included in the Disaster Relief Grant program.
"If a dwelling such as a caravan, cabin, or relocatable home in a caravan park is identified as their primary place of residence, repairs can occur if an applicant meets the eligibility criteria," a spokesperson said.
"As these living arrangements have unique circumstances all applications need to be considered on a case-by-case basis – such as if flood water has entered the body of the caravan above floor level."
The reconstruction authority said it had approved 88 such applications in the Northern Rivers with 23 of those in the Chinderah area.
But it said written-off caravans were only entitled to $15,000 in repair grants.
Residents can only receive either the Disaster Relief Grant or the Back Home grant.
If a resident has already received a Back Home grant and applied for the Disaster Relief Grant, the amount is deducted from the overall support.
Thelma Murphy said she has been thrifty with her repairs but it still was not enough to get the job done.
"I was very proud of my home. I still am, and I would like to get it back to how it was," she said.
