Horsham, Ararat, Buloke, Northern Grampians, West Wimmera and Yarriambiack municipalities were among 27 Victorian councils already eligible. 

Hindmarsh Shire chief executive Greg Wood said council would be making use of the arrangement after being added to the list on Wednesday.

He said the funding was an important help to rural areas.

“I think it recognises in rural areas, in particular, lots of things happen that are outside the control of the community,” he sad.

“To foster the community into the future there needs to be assistance when natural events occur whether drought or flood.”

Mr Wood said the input of state and federal governments show rural communities were a vital part of the nation.

He said council was still evaluating the damage from the recent severe weather.

“We’re in the middle of assessing and establishing priorities,” he said.

“We have a lot of roads to check out, there will be a focus on flood plains.”

Horsham Rural City chief officer Peter Brown said council would apply for at least a couple of hundred thousand dollars in funding to cover a range of repair work. 

He said the scheme allowed council to claim for assistance in repairs to roads and damaged infrastructure. 

“It’s really important local government doesn’t bear the cost of natural disasters alone,” Mr Brown said.

“It’s important it’s shared between the three levels of government.”

Mr Brown said there were about a dozen roads across the municipality that were damaged by the floods, including Smith Road, Wartook and Telangatuk Rocklands Road. 

He said there was no set funding allocation with council able to lodge claims progressively.

Minister for Justice Michael Keenan said assistance was also available to individuals and information could be found on the Vic Emergency website.