Drought Preparedness Grants offer up to $50,000 as a co-contribution grant to assist primary producers undertake on-farm capital improvements that will improve the drought preparedness of their property.
Drought Preparedness Grants

What assistance is available?
Primary producers can now apply for a grant of 25 per cent of the cost of purchasing new permanent capital infrastructure to a maximum cumulative amount of $50,000 over five years.
The grant aims to assist producers with the cost of implementing on-farm capital improvements and carrying out drought preparedness activities identified in their Farm Business Resilience Plan including the below and as outlined in the guidelines. Please note this is not an exhaustive list.
- water infrastructure including pipes, water tanks, water troughs, new dam construction, drilling a new working bore, water conservation infrastructure and water pumps
- storage, mixing and feeding out equipment for grain, fodder, molasses and other supplements
- grain storage and equipment that improves the ability of the business to manage drought
- reasonable freight components to purchase and install equipment or infrastructure
- consumables including fuel for own machinery used in relation to the drought preparedness project and
- contractor costs or non-salaried employees’ costs directly associated with implementing the drought preparedness project.
A QRIDA Sustainability Loan may be used as the co-contribution to the Drought Preparedness Grant for implementation activities.
To be eligible for Drought Preparedness Grant, the project will:
- involve the purchase and installation of new permanent capital infrastructure
- improve the ability of the primary production business to prepare for continue to operate in, or recover from, drought conditions
- be a drought preparedness activity listed in your resilience plan for the primary production business and
- not have already commenced the project before the assistance is approved.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for a Drought Preparedness Grant, applicants must:
- demonstrate at least one person in the primary production business meets the definition of a primary producer;
- demonstrate an ability to provide the remaining contribution to the grant requested;
- demonstrate that any necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained; and
- present a Farm Business Resilience Plan (as outlined in Section 6 of the guidelines), satisfactory to QRIDA.
To be eligible for a Drought Preparedness Grant, applicants must not have:
- made an application to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries supported by an invoice issued in the past six month period for assistance under:
- a freight subsidy under the Drought Relief Assistance Scheme
- the Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate under the Drought Relief Assistance Scheme; and
- previously received a Drought Preparedness Grant for the same project activity.
Find out more about the Farm Business Resilience Plan here.
Take this example...
By completing their Farm Business Resilience Plan, Jamie knows that installing three large feed storage sheds will assist with protecting their farm from drought.
After seeking quotes for these sheds, they find it will cost $230,000 to build. Jamie decides to apply for a Drought Preparedness Grant to cover up to 25% of the cost to a maximum of $50,000.
Applying through QRIDA, they submit their quotes and Farm Business Resilience Plan for review. Meeting all the eligibility criteria, Jamie is approved for the Drought Preparedness Grant and receives $50,000 as it does not exceed 25% of the cost of the capital infrastructure they wish to build. This money will now go towards building the feed storage sheds.
Apply now
Find your application form and relevant documents here.
Submit your application
Applications for the Drought Preparedness Grant Scheme must be submitted to QRIDA by one of the following:
- Email: contact_us@qrida.qld.gov.au
- Post: GPO Box 211 Brisbane Queensland 4001
- Fax: 07 3032 0300
QRIDA is administering the Drought Preparedness Grant Scheme on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
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