Victorian Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grant in Australia

Deadline: 13-Jul-23

The Rural Finance is inviting applications for the Victorian Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grant to support clean-up, relief and recovery costs for primary producers that have suffered direct loss or damage as a direct result of the 2022 Victorian Floods.

The program is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements in relation to the Victorian Floods which commenced in October 2022 (AGRN 1037) (the “2022 Victorian Floods”).

This grant covers activities like the removal and disposal of debris and injured or dead livestock, replacing or repairing essential equipment, fixing and replacing fencing, buying fodder, water and water storage, salvaging damaged crops, grain or feed, and hiring or purchasing materials to clean up a property or equipment.

Funding Information

• Eligible Primary Producers who have been directly impacted by the 2022 Victorian Floods may apply for up to $75,000 to undertake relief and recovery actions.
• The maximum grant amount available is $75,000.
  • An initial up-front payment of up to $25,000 (Tier 1) is available. To support an initial claim evidence of direct damage is required. For example, the grant will be provided on the basis of photographs, quotations or estimates, advisory reports, or written inventory of lost/damaged assets. You can also provide tax invoices or official receipts for recovery activities carried out.
    • For Tier 1 applications, tax invoices and/or receipts are NOT required to be supplied as part of the application. However, applicants must keep evidence of payment to verify expenditure of funding on eligible relief and recovery activities.
    • If you have already applied for and/or received an amount up to $10,000 under the Victorian Primary Producer Flood Clean-up and Relief Grants, this will be part of the Tier 1 amount
  • A subsequent amount of up to $50,000 (Tier 2) is available. To support subsequent claims full evidence of payment (tax invoices and official receipts) is required for the funding to be provided under Tier 2. This evidence of payment must also include any amounts claimed under the initial (Tier 1) claim if not already provided.
• You can make up to three claims to support your grant for up to $75,000. Any additional claims will be considered by Rural Finance on a case by case basis.

How funding may be used?

• Grants may be provided to help pay for the costs of the relief, clean-up and reinstatement of the Primary Production Enterprise, including:
  • engaging a tradesperson to conduct a safety inspection of damage to a property, premises or equipment;
  • hiring and leasing equipment, or purchasing materials to clean a property, premises or equipment;
  • paying additional wages to an existing employee, or employing a person to clean a property, premises or equipment if the cost would not ordinarily have been incurred in the absence of the eligible disaster;
  • removing and disposing of debris, damaged goods and material, and injured or dead livestock;
  • repairing a building or repairing or replacing fittings in a building if the repair or replacement is essential for resuming operation of the Primary Production Enterprise. Funding is not available for repairs to a building that is used as a dwelling, unless it is used for carrying on the Primary Production Enterprise, for example staff accommodation;
  • purchasing, hiring or leasing equipment or materials that are essential for immediately resuming operation of the Primary Production Enterprise, including pumps and generators;
  • engaging technical or veterinary expertise and undertaking technical analysis such as soil or water sampling, and
  • any of the following –
    • repairing, reconditioning or replacing essential plant or equipment damaged by the eligible disaster;
    • repairing or replacing fencing on a property, other than to the extent the cost may be recovered under other assistance from the Commonwealth or State/Territory;
    • purchasing fodder, other than to the extent the cost may be recovered under other assistance from the Commonwealth or State/Territory;
    • maintaining the health of livestock and poultry;
    • replacing the dead livestock;
    • repairing or restoring fields;
    • salvaging damaged crops, grain or feed;
  • replacing lost or damaged plants if the replacement is essential for immediately resuming operation of the Primary Production Enterprise.

Eligible Separate Businesses

• Primary Producers who operate more than one Primary Production Enterprise, for example under a single ABN at separate locations, may apply for assistance for each eligible separate business up to the maximum amount of assistance available for the relevant defined disaster area.
• When assessing an application on this basis Rural Finance may consider (but is not limited to):
  • the staffing arrangements of the separate business;
  • whether the business has its own plant equipment or stock;
  • the accounting arrangements of the separate business;
  • whether the separate business operates under its own trading name; and
  • the commercial viability and autonomy of each business.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for the Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grants, the Primary Producer applicant must:
  • Be a Primary Producer,
  • Devote part of their labour to the Primary Production Enterprise;
  • Derive at least 50 per cent of their gross income from Primary Production in an average year
  • An applicant may also be eligible for a grant if the applicant derives at least 50 per cent of their total gross income from primary production and value-added products (e.g. wine) made directly from raw produce grown by the applicant
  • Hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at the time of the disaster;
  • Have a Primary Production Enterprise that is located in the defined disaster area for the eligible disaster and have suffered direct damage as a result of the eligible disaster;
  • Have been engaged in carrying on the Primary Production Enterprise when affected by the eligible disaster;
  • Intend to re-establish the Primary Production Enterprise in the same community, region or sector as the defined disaster area for the eligible disaster;
  • Be primarily responsible for meeting the costs claimed in the applications.
• An applicant may also be eligible for a Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grant if in the opinion of Rural Finance:
  • based on the demonstrated production potential, the primary production enterprise will derive at least 50 per cent of their gross incomes from the primary production enterprise within a three-to-eight-year period, taking into account the nature of the industry; or
  • if the income is less than 50 per cent of their total gross income, the applicant can demonstrate it is a commercial enterprise generating more than $75,000 gross income from the primary production enterprise in an average year.
• A Primary Producer applicant may also be eligible for a Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grant if both of the following apply:
  • The applicant’s Primary Production Enterprise is located outside the defined disaster area for the eligible disaster but is carried on at least sometime on a regular basis within that area; and
  • Property, plant or equipment of the Primary Production Enterprise situated in the defined disaster area has been damaged as a result of the 2022 Victorian Floods.
• Where two or more independent and separately owned Primary Producers operate a Primary Production Enterprise from the same property, each Primary Producer may be eligible to receive the maximum amount of grant funding providing each applicant can demonstrate that:
  • The Primary Production Enterprises are independently owned and separately operated from any other Primary Production Enterprise operated on that property;
  • Each Primary Producer would be eligible for the grant in their own right (including the requirement that they derive at least 50 per cent of their gross income from the Primary Production Enterprise as provided in clause);
  • The Primary Producers are each claiming for different expenses from those claimed by the other Primary Producer operating a Primary Production Enterprise from the same property; and
  • The expenses that each Primary Producer is claiming are essential to the operation of their respective Primary Production Enterprises.

For more information, visit Victorian Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grant.