For 36 years, Anita Stoddart has been in the cattle business, running a breeder operation across 160,000 acres at Croydon and a 125-acre finishing block at Malanda, where she brings in weaners and fattens them for sale. Nothing, though, had prepared her for what Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the flooding that followed would do to her Malanda property in December 2023.

When Tropical Cyclone Jasper hit the flooding and road closures that followed brought Tony Leacy’s business, and many others in the region, to a standstill.

But that didn't mean he was on his own. Small Business Financial Counsellor Kendell Thessman's role, funded through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), was there to support businesses feeling the flow-on effects of a disaster.

For Mission Beach massage and craniosacral therapist Yoko Yasui, Cyclone Jasper's biggest hit wasn't the storm itself - it was the tourists who stayed away after seeing the headlines, right as her business headed into its quietest months.

With support from Small Business Financial Counsellor Kendell Thessman at RFCSNQ, funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Yoko accessed funding for a fresh marketing rebrand - and someone to talk straight business with.

When Cyclone Jasper hit the Vang family's taro farm on the Cassowary Coast, it destroyed a paddock they'd spent years building, along with their water pumps, tractors, and an entire season's crop.

With support from Rural Financial Counsellor Andrew Grist at RFCSNQ, funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Kee and his mother Mei were able to repair their machinery, restore their water pumps, and replant, keeping four generations of family farming going.

When Rural Financial Counsellor Andrew Grist sat down with Mei Vang and her son Kee after Cyclone Jasper, language was one more barrier on top of the flooding that had wiped out their taro crop, tractors and water pumps.

Funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Andrew helped make sure the family understood every avenue of support available, from grants and disaster loans to income support, and worked alongside them as they rebuilt and made plans for their farm to be more resilient to the next big wet.

For Jules, of Jules Fashions in Mission Beach, Cyclone Jasper's road closures and the media fear that followed hit tourism hard -and running a business alone through it took its toll.

With support from Small Business Financial Counsellor Kendell Thessman, Jules got help with her books, her grant application, and a connection to wellbeing support along the way.

When Rural Financial Counsellor Andrew Grist sat down with Mei Vang and her son Kee after Cyclone Jasper, language was one more barrier on top of the flooding that had wiped out their taro crop, tractors and water pumps.

Funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Andrew helped make sure the family understood every avenue of support available, from grants and disaster loans to income support, and worked alongside them as they rebuilt and made plans for their farm to be more resilient to the next big wet.

Small Business Financial Counsellor Kendell Thessman was on the ground across the Cassowary Coast after Cyclone Jasper, helping business owners through everything from insurance and grant applications to breaking the isolation of running a business through hardship.

As a dedicated disaster recovery Small Business Financial Counsellor funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Kendell and her team have supported small businesses region-wide with free, impartial, confidential guidance, from crisis response through to grant applications, wellness support, and rebuilding for the future.