The Australian federal government has conceded more time and money needs to be invested in alleviating the cause of bushfires in the anticipation of more damage expected throughout South Australia and Victoria.

At least 12 homes have been destroyed in fires that raged throughout South Australia over the weekend, but more could be lost as conditions worsen throughout the coming week.

Families of those affected by bushfires will begin receiving disaster relief payments of up to 565 US dollars on Monday. However, justice minister Michael Keenan believes federal decision- making remains too reactionary in relation to natural disasters.

Initial drafts of the Productivity Commission review, released in September last year, highlighted how throughout the last decade, Australia has spent 6.5 billion US dollars on emergency relief, but only 93 million US dollars on prevention measures.

Keenan has told the ABC that more proactive procedures need to be in place in order to ease the threat of natural disasters.

"In Australia, we spend an enormous amount of money dealing with the after-effects of a natural disaster and very little money up front actually alleviating or mitigating the effects of disasters before they occur," Keenan said on Monday.

"We spend 97 percent of disaster funding money dealing with the after-effects of things as they occur and only three percent on mitigating a disaster before it happens."

"Nobody, since I've come to this portfolio, has told me that they believe that is a sensible or effective arrangement."

Keenan's comments have received support from Greens leader Christine Milne, who believes that funding climate change measures could be seen as a preventative process in dealing with the threat of natural disasters before they occur.

"We actually have to put in some preventative measures," Milne said on Monday.

"We have to increase, for example, the height of flood levies to protect communities from projected flooding, we have to look at moving infrastructure from vulnerable coastal areas so communities are not left without water and sewage conditions and infrastructure in the face of coastal storm surge and flooding."

Temperatures in South Australia are expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while 35kph winds will add to the threat of bushfire.

It gives specialist teams little time to assess the damage and further organize fire safety teams in specific areas.

As of Monday morning, 19 South Australian communities remain at risk, while the threat has eased in parts of Victoria thanks to improving conditions over the weekend.