Drought Ready and Recovery Finance Loans

What assistance is available?

Queensland based primary producers who may be ready to undertake on-farm capital improvement activities or restocking and replanting activities to improve the drought resilience of their primary production enterprise may be eligible for a Drought Ready and Recovery Finance Loan of up to $250,000.

Primary producers can now apply for a loan to a maximum amount of $250,000.

The loan aims to assist producers with the cost of implementing new on-farm permanent capital infrastructure or restocking or replanting activities as identified in the Farm Business Resilience Plan to improve drought resilience.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for a Drought Ready and Recovery Finance Loan, applicants must:

• demonstrate at least one person in the primary production business is a primary producer
• demonstrate that the project/s and activities identified in the Farm Business Resilience Plan will improve the drought readiness and recovery prospects of the primary production business
• have prospects for viability and the ability to service the loan
• present a Farm Business Resilience Plan satisfactory to QRIDA and
• demonstrate to the satisfaction of QRIDA, for drought recovery finance for replanting or restocking, that the seasonal conditions have improved following drought to enable the restocking or replanting activities.

To be eligible for a loan applicants must also 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; or
  • the Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate under the Drought Relief Assistance Scheme.

What can the loan be used for?

• improving on-farm water infrastructure
• implementing grain storage
• reasonable freight components to purchase and install equipment or infrastructure
• contractor costs or non-salaried employees’ costs directly associated with implementing the drought preparedness project
• removing unviable crops, plants or trees and  purchasing and planting new seed, seedlings or trees or
• purchasing and vaccinating new stock or drenching new stock.

Please be aware this is not an exhaustive list. Please see the guidelines for a list of eligible activities.

Take this example...

After receiving a Drought Preparedness Grant of $50,000, Jamie is excited to start building the feed storage sheds. However, they still need to fund the remaining $170,000.

Hearing about the Drought Ready and Recovery Finance Loans available of up to $250,000 through QRIDA, Jamie chats to their Regional Area Manager about whether the loan could fund the remainder of the shed.

After submitting all the required documentation and meeting eligibility criteria, Jamie is approved for a concessional loan of $170,000. They now have 10 years to pay this money back, with interest-only payments for the first two years.

Interest rates

View the current interest rates

What information do I need for my application?

The following information is required to complete your Drought Ready and Recovery Finance Loan application:

• Financial Statements for the past 3 years including:
  • Profit and Loss Statement
  • Livestock Trading Schedule
  • Balance Sheet
  • Depreciation Schedules
• Statement of Position
• Personal/Income Tax Returns for the past 3 years
• Monthly Cash Flows for the Current and Next Financial Year (July – June)
• Production Schedules. See QRIDA templates on forms and downloads page.
• Australian Tax Office (ATO) Integrated Client Account Statement
• Schedule of Account Details form all lenders (found on last page of application form)
• Copy of quotes to verify costs of drought ready or recovery activity/ies
• A Farm Business Resilience Plan will be required within a reasonable period of time. Please note, the requirements for a Farm Business Resilience Plan are available on the DAF website. Please do not mail original documents as we are unable to return them.