TUMBULGUM business operators have worked tirelessly to complete the second round of government surveys for the Category C assistance package.

After the riverside village was left out of the initial Category C declaration for Murwillumbah last week, Tumbulgum Residents Association president Jenny Kidd organised a town meeting for business owners to complete the survey.

"Our businesses were focussed on what they needed to do to get their businesses up and running, not filling in a survey to get a classification to get access to support for recovery,” MsKidd said.

"We've got the riverfront businesses that are focussed on the tourist trade and we've got a lot of sole traders, small businessmen who operate out of houses who might have had their livelihoods on the back of a ute. They were affected because they lost their vehicles.”

Ms Kidd said the village shouldn't have been penalised for not completing the survey, especially when they weren't warned it could impact their inclusion in Category C or they had no access to the internet in the days after the flood.

"If you haven't got contact with the internet and you've got an internet-enabled survey for people to fill in and you've been knee deep in mud all day, how can you fill in a survey?” she said.

"There wasn't really that feeling that if you don't fill in the survey, they won't be able to asses how affected the area is.

"It's putting a lot of responsibility back on the business owners to supply the information rather than the government.”

Tumbulgum business owners will now wait to hear if they meet the Category C requirements.