A union head wants an immediate raise in the disaster recovery allowance for bushfire-affected Australians.
Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil says the allowance, based off Newstart welfare payments, equates to $40 a day.
"This is widely inadequate," Ms O'Neil told AAP.
"You have people who are already traumatised and having a crisis in their lives ... not able to deal with their bills, not able to properly look after their family."
Ms O'Neil said Australians urgently needed the allowance lifted to match the national minimum wage.
"Which would be the difference between $40 a day and $105 a day," she said.
Ms O'Neil raised the concerns with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a bushfire roundtable in Canberra on Friday.
She said the prime minister needed to "urgently show leadership".
The meeting ran overtime with Ms O'Neil saying a lot of groups were putting forward proposals.
For her part, Ms O'Neil also asked the prime minister to have a roundtable with other union heads.
She also wanted Mr Morrison to address the lack of national guidelines when it came to bushfire smoke affecting workplaces across the country.
But the need for a lift in the recovery allowance was urgent, with people in bushfire-affected communities unable to afford to stay.
A lift in the allowance would have a knock-on effect by pumping money back into local businesses, Ms O'Neil said.
Mr Morrison has said fire-ravaged communities will lead the recovery effort in the next stage of the government's response.
The peak recovery bodies at Friday's meet included the National Farmers' Federation, Red Cross, Tourism and Transport Forum Australia.
The government wants to work with the groups to ensure the recovery effort caters for the affected regions in both the short- and long-term.
The purpose of the roundtable was to co-ordinate the most effective delivery of services through government, businesses and not-for-profit organisations.
NSW Liberal MP Andrew Constance said "very big mistakes" had been made leading into the bushfire season but emphasised the current focus should remain on recovery.
"We can't distract from what's going on at the moment," Mr Constance told Sky News.
"I've been very concerned about the speed in which that's been happening," Mr Constance told Sky News on Thursday.
"We've got a lot of money that's starting to be announced with the best of intentions and now we've got to make sure bureaucracy doesn't get in the way."
The government is working on broader plans to help small business and tourism, as part of its $2 billion recovery package.
Australian Associated Press
