A couple in regional New South Wales have been denied help under the State Government's Disaster Relief Grants program because they each earned more than the $943.25 per couple weekly income threshold for the assistance.

Key points: Lorena Granados and Gaspar Roman were denied a bushfire relief grant because they each earnt $300 above the income limit

Lorena Granados and Gaspar Roman were denied a bushfire relief grant because they each earnt $300 above the income limit They are among many small business struggling after the summer's fires

They are among many small business struggling after the summer's fires National Bushfire Recovery Co-ordinator Andrew Colvin says there needs to be humanity and flexibility when giving out grants

Lorena Granados and her partner, Gaspar Roman, lost everything when a bushfire hit the tiny town of Mogo on the NSW south coast on New Year's Eve.

Not only did the couple lose the home they were renting, but they also lost their successful leather goods business, Roman Leathergoods & Repairs.

They had been planning to move into the commercial building and build a two-bedroom home to live.

"This makes no sense to me," Ms Granados told 7.30.

"We've just lost absolutely everything, how can we not qualify like everybody else?

"We have nothing. We have no job to go back to."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 33 seconds 33 s Bushfire on the streets of Mogo

Two months after the fire, Ms Granados told 7.30 she has been left frustrated by the bureaucracy of various government assistance programs for bushfire relief.

"I was pretty shocked actually because I've been a taxpayer all my life, and I feel like I've paid enough tax to be able to qualify for some assistance when I'm in trouble," she said.

An email seen by 7.30 from a Disaster Welfare Services team leader stated the couple exceeded the income limit for a grant towards the replacement cost of essential household items by approximately $600 based on their previous year's tax returns.

It referred to the limit as "quite modest", as it was based on the Pension Rate plus percentage.

The NSW Disaster Recovery Office have since clarified that the couple earnt $664.00 over the weekly threshold, which for a couple is $943.25 per week.

When informed of the clarification, Ms Granados said this was not made clear to her.

"I'm in shock because they confuse me every single time. Everybody says something different," she said.

The couple was told that while the conclusion regarding eligibility was based on their income, they would also have been ineligible because of their assets, including an investment property in Queensland.

A spokesperson from the NSW Disaster Recovery Office told 7.30 it was committed to helping communities recover from the unprecedented bushfire season.

"We have a range of supports available including financial assistance, and are working to make the application process as easy as possible for people," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"The Disaster Welfare Grant is available to people with limited resources and no insurance.

"Eligible people may receive a financial contribution to cover homes and essential household contents that have been damaged or destroyed by a disaster."

"The organisation for these processes has been so messy," Ms Granados said.

"It's been completely disorganised. It's a shambles and I don't understand."

On top of her ineligibility for this grant, Ms Granados said she had experienced problems applying for the $50,000 Small Business Bushfire Recovery grant, including the need to find access to a scanner for documents.

She said she had attempted to apply for the grant four times but, after inquiries from 7.30, it was finally approved yesterday.

'We'd be better off if the business burned to the ground'

Dave Ballinger is considering selling his Snowy River Tackle shop after a big loss of business due to the bushfires. ( Supplied: Dave Ballinger )

It is not just businesses directly impacted by the bushfires who have suffered.

Many others have lost tens of thousands of dollars in turnover this summer as a result of the fires.

The Victorian fires did not reach the small town of Marlo in East Gippsland, but Dave Ballinger, who owns Snowy River Tackle and Cafe, said he and his wife Naomi had still been pushed to the brink.

After nearly a decade in business, they are now considering selling.

"We lost pretty much all of January, which is our generally our busiest month of the year with the tourism and holiday-makers, all that trade was gone," Mr Ballinger told 7.30.

"If we had been burned to the ground, I've got insurance cover, and I've got 18 months of loss of income in that cover.

"So, as much as I wouldn't want to see my little business be burned to the ground, we currently would be better off if we were."

Exclusive data from SGS Economics & Planning estimates the overall cost of these bushfires to the Australian economy has now reached $4.1 billion.

Andrew Colvin says the National Bushfire Recovery Agency needs to be flexible when handing out grants. ( ABC News: Shaun Kingma )

National Bushfire Recovery Agency Coordinator Andrew Colvin conceded that there are faults in the system and said the agency was actively working on making changes.

"I think our small business grants and our concessional loans, we need to work on them. There's no doubt about that," the former Australian Federal Police Commissioner told 7.30.

"We're [the] government, and we're talking about taxpayer dollars and public funds, so we need to be sensible about it.

"We need to have a degree of humanity and flexibility in the way that we apply the grants.

"We need to find ways to help people and that should be our overriding principle."

So far, only 10 per cent of the government's $2 billion bushfire fund has been spent.

"There's frustration and I hear that frustration," Mr Colvin said.

"It takes time and we're stripping away as much process as we can, and trying to tailor the measures and tailor the cash to meet the individual circumstances."

Hundreds of bushfire scams reported

Millions of Australians have donated to help people affected by the summer's bushfires. ( Supplied: Nerrigundah resident Deborah Threlfall )

In the wake of the devastating fire season, Australians opened their wallets in an unprecedented show of generosity.

Charity expert Krystian Seibert from Swinburne University said estimates put the total donation figure at more than $500 million.

"There is some survey data indicating that 53 per cent of Australians gave in response to the bushfire crisis," Mr Seibert said.

"The average amount given was $50, and the median amount given was $121 — so it is remarkable."

Complaints have been raised about charities failing to distribute the money to people in need fast enough, or spending too much on administration costs.

Data obtained by 7.30 through freedom of information requests indicated that between the beginning of September and the end of February, there were 300 reports to the ACCC about bushfire-related scams, most of which related to charities.

The complaints allege misleading, fraudulent and even criminal activity and are still under investigation.

"I think it's really important for charities to be open and transparent about how they are spending funds, what their plan is, how much they've already distributed, when they're going to distribute the remainder of the funds," Mr Seibert said.

"They've got websites that can put that information out there. So, communicate with their donors, let them know what you're doing, how you're doing it.

"When you're doing it — the more information that's out there, I think the more reassured donors will be."