Drought Support Package announced

The support package includes a range of measures including grants for on-farm drought resilience infrastructure, mental health and community support, and funding to enable donated fodder to reach more communities.

The package has been informed by drought round tables conducted across the state, and the SA Drought Advisory Group which includes representation from key primary industries as well as state, federal and local government.

Assistance measures include:

• $5 million for On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Grants for rebates of up to 75% (to a maximum of $5,000 excluding GST) that assist with projects to manage drought conditions and strengthen drought preparedness.
• $2 million to assist charities with freight costs to transport donated fodder to assist farmers with feeding livestock.
• $1 million for additional health and wellbeing support through the Rural Financial Counselling Service and Family and Business Support Program.
• $100,000 for grants of up to $5,000 for the Connecting Communities Events Program, for groups to host events that foster social connections and provide support during these challenging times.
• $4.4 million budget commitment to provide Family and Business (FaB) Mentors and Rural Financial Counsellors, who provide free confidential and independent services that link people with the appropriate assistance.
• $5.5 million funding provided to the State and Federal Government’s Future Drought Fund, which includes ongoing programs to help farmers with farm business resilience planning, climate tools and demonstrating more resilient farming practices.

People can now register their details for the On-farm drought infrastructure grants and will be notified when applications open. The Connecting Communities events grants are open already, and the on-farm drought infrastructure rebates will open in the next few days. People can register their interest to be notified using the form on our page.

For more information, see Drought.