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A young mother-of-two who lost her job during Australia's latest wave of coronavirus lockdowns says she is barely surviving on welfare after finding out she is ineligible for government disaster payments.
Melbourne mum Emma Pucci normally works 30 hours a week as a beauty therapist to provide for her and her two young daughters.
Now all she has is $310-a-week JobSeeker payments after Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday closed all non-essential Victorian businesses - including beauty salons - to stem an outbreak of the Delta Covid variant.
Ms Pucci said she was not yet eligible for the $600 federal government disaster payment despite losing her income when the restrictions came into place.
Shoppers walk through closed market sheds at Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market on July 17. Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday sent Victoria into a strict lockdown to stem the spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant
Victorian residents have to wait until Friday to apply for lockdown support despite Mr Andrews on Tuesday extending his state's restrictions for another week.
NSW residents can already apply through MyGov for the lump sum $600 disaster payment if they lost more than 20 hours of work, or for a $375 payment if they lost between eight and 20 hours.
'I need the government to support me. I'm locked down and I can't work,' she told the Today show.
'They have taken away my ability to earn an income. We're doing the right thing by staying inside doing our part, but we need some support to do that.
'I'm scared, worried, and frustrated I can't get the $600 Covid relief payment everybody
