The Drought Infrastructure Fund is available to farmers in NSW to meet the cost of carrying out permanent capital works that will have a significant beneficial impact on the land, long term profitability of the business and address adverse seasonal conditions.

Please refer to the program guidelines for further detail:
Drought Infrastructure Fund Loan – Program Guidelines

Drought Infrastructure Fund loan are available to meet the cost of carrying out permanent capital works that will address adverse seasonal conditions, have a significant beneficial impact on the land and long term profitability of the business. Such works would fall into the four main categories of:

• drought preparedness
• environment
• natural resources
• farm infrastructure.

Please refer to the program guidelines for further detail:
Drought Infrastructure Fund Loan – Program Guidelines

Maximum amount:
Drought Infrastructure Fund loans are up to a maximum of $1 million.

Interest rate:
The current rate applied to Drought Infrastructure Fund loans is 2.5% and is fixed for the term of the loan.

Repayments:
Loans can be repaid monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually over a term of up to 20 years.

Please refer to the program guidelines for further detail:
Drought Infrastructure Fund Loan – Program Guidelines

When you lodge an application for a loan, you will need copies of the following documents:

• Signed Mortgagees Consent Form from your existing mortgagee (download a Mortgagees Consent Form)
• Last three years balance sheets and financial statements of your farm enterprise (these include profit and loss statements, stock trading account and depreciation schedules)
• Last three years individual taxation returns and a current listing of all assets and liabilities held by each: Individual members of a partnership/family trust and individual director(s)/shareholder(s) of all companies
• The first page of your latest bank statement (for use when verify account details for any future payments)
• Farm Business and Risk Assessment Plan (download a Farm Business Plan Template)
• Trust deed (if applicable)
• Monthly cash flow budget for the next 12 months (download a Cash Flow Statement Template)
• Current LGA (council) rates and LLS rates notice(s) for property(s) where the work is to be completed.

Once your application has been approved, you will be advised of the process to submit invoices to claim payment.

Please note that the online form has file size restrictions (approx. 20MB total) – for each attachment please ensure the file size is 2.5MB or less to avoid submission issues.

To lodge a claim, you will need:

• BP reference number
• ABN number
• Case number from original application
• Tax invoices

Please note, invoices to be claimed under this program must be submitted within twelve months of application approval.

We recommend you use the Google Chrome browser when submitting a claim. If you are unsure at any stage of the process as to how to complete the online claim form, please refer to the Example Claim Request Form.

Additional information about the Drought Infrastructure Fund can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions webpage:

Drought Infrastructure Fund Frequently Asked Questions

Visit NSW DroughtHub for more information on the full range of drought assistance available to NSW farmers.

If you have any questions about this program you can contact our team by calling 1800 678 593 or emailing rural.assist@raa.nsw.gov.au.

If you have difficulty understanding the guidelines or completing the application form you should seek the assistance of your rural/financial counsellor, business advisor, accountant or a trusted family member/friend. If you need assistance with interpreting or translating, please contact Multicultural NSW on 1300 651 500 or email languageservices@multicultural.nsw.gov.au.

If you are experiencing any issues completing the form, free confidential assistance is available from your local Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS). For more information, visit the RFCS website or call:

• Northern region: 1800 344 090
• Southern and Central region: 1800 319 458