Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged further financial assistance for other local councils in northern NSW devastated by recent floods.
As local MPs hit out at the government for a lack of support, claiming areas were being ignored, Mr Morrison said support would likely expand.
"We're looking at other impacted areas in those districts to see how we might extend some of that support," he told reporters in Brisbane.
"As the damage assessments come in, you will add others to that list when you go through the proper process."
After the prime minister announced financial support for three local councils in northern NSW on Wednesday, federal Labor MP Justine Elliot — whose Richmond electorate takes in Ballina and surrounding areas that have been hit by the floods — said residents there had been abandoned.
"People are suffering when we are not part of that announcement," she told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"Many people can't access housing or money and they need urgent assistance and what we have seen since the flood hit is rolling incompetence from the state and federal governments."
Residents wade through floodwater in Windsor, northwest of Sydney, Wednesday, 9 March 2022. Source: AAP / BIANCA DE MARCHI/AAPIMAGE
There will be 4,459 troops deployed in NSW, 2,918 of those in northern NSW, while there will be 1,289 in Queensland.
"That is an extraordinary development of force as they have been able to be staged and moving into those positions," Mr Morrison said.
The prime minister will meet with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to discuss flood measures later on Thursday, as Mr Morrison prepares to declare a national emergency.
The declaration, which will allow the government to access stockpiled resources and removed red tape, requires approval from the NSW and Queensland premiers and signing off by Governor-General David Hurley.
Piles of flood-damaged goods line a main street in Lismore as residents return to their properties to survey the damage following unprecedented storms and the worst flooding in a decade. Credit: Dan Peled/Getty Images
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce rejected claims parts of northern NSW were ignored by the government
Mr Joyce said decisions about which areas get funding were made by the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, based on the recommendations of the states.
"(The states) have the lead on this, they make the call that they want further support, and then the role of the federal government, after we negotiate that, is to (provide) support," he told ABC Radio.
He said the states provided an assessment of which areas were at the epicentre of disasters.
Rain eases in NSW but flood risks remain
As major flooding continues in some parts of NSW, residents in other areas of the state are assessing the damage after more than two weeks of unrelenting rain finally eases.
The sun has emerged but the flood risk remains with waters predicted to recede slowly over the coming days.
Residents in some flood-hit areas previously subject to evacuation orders have been told they can begin returning to their homes.
The death toll in NSW rose to nine on Wednesday when police found the body of a man believed to be a delivery driver who had been missing since Tuesday.
NSW Police said the body of a 50-year-old man was found in Sydney's southwest after a large scale-search. The man was believed to have left work at 12am to issue a delivery at 6am on Tuesday, but his truck was submerged in flooded waters in the suburb of Greendale.
With a reprieve from the rain that has battered the state for weeks also comes a strong wind warning for the coast from Byron Bay to Eden.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says significant flooding will continue in a number of communities along the Hawkesbury and Nepean River catchment for at least another 24 hours.
NSW State Emergency Services (SES) Commissioner Carlene York said preparations are underway to transition to the recovery phase of the operation.
The unprecedented flooding crisis involved more than 1,600 SES volunteers on the ground at the peak of the event.
There are still 38 evacuation orders affecting 9,000 people as well as 24 evacuation warnings affecting 20,000 across most of the coast.
"Regretfully the rains have started to come from Queensland and western NSW is now going back into flood," Ms York told ABC radio on Thursday.
She warned people should remain vigilant about risks as many roads remain flooded, while others are badly damaged with potholes.
"Thinking that you can get through floodwaters because you've got a larger vehicle ... is a dangerous decision," she said.
The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley remains of concern after river levels at Windsor peaked on Wednesday morning with flood levels hitting 13.8 metres - nearly one metre above those experienced a year ago and the highest since 1978.
The main flood peak in the Hawkesbury is now downstream of Wisemans Ferry. River levels at North Richmond and Windsor are expected to remain above major levels for the remainder of the week.
Minor flooding continues at Penrith where the Nepean River peaked on Tuesday afternoon at 7.9 metres.
The Hunter remains badly affected with major flooding at Singleton and a number of areas cut off by floodwaters with the SES still dropping supplies to communities.
The South Coast also remains of concern, with thunderstorms forecast on Thursday, after flooding caused landslides around Kiama.
