www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Ahead of the NSW state election on 25 March 2023, the NSW Government caretaker period has commenced. Limited updates will be made to this website during this period.
The Special Disaster Grants provides eligible primary producers up to $75,000 and is designed to help pay for the costs of clean-up and reinstatement of primary production enterprises that have suffered direct damage as a result of the eligible disaster.
The easiest way to receive your grant is to apply via the Rural Assistance Authority's (RAA) online application form.
Primary producers who have been directly impacted by the NSW Severe Weather & Flooding from 22 February 2022 onwards, located in a declared Local Government Area (LGA) can apply for up to $75,000.
Up to $75,000 can be claimed per affected property that is operated by eligible separate businesses, to help with the costs associated with immediate clean- up and repairs to infrastructure. This is a grant and not a loan, meaning you don’t need to repay the funds.
Applicants who operate their primary production enterprise under a single ABN on separate properties may apply for multiple grants if they can satisfy the below criteria:
Where two or more independent and separately owned and registered primary producers operate from the same property, each primary producer may receive a maximum grant to the maximum available. See program guidelines for more information.
Application close dates vary depending on your LGA. Please refer to the RAA website for close dates for applications and claims.
Yes, application forms can be completed online before costs are claimed and an up-front grant payment of $25,000 will be paid once your claim is approved.
Applicants must provide a complete application form and:
View the eligibility criteria here
You can provide permission for the RAA to contact your accountant directly to obtain them.
LLS can send you a copy of your LLS rates notice. Please contact LLS on 1300 795 299 to request a copy.
You should enter the details of the properties where the majority of damage was incurred. If you require further information, please contact the RAA directly on 1800 678 593.
No. The GST component of any invoice received can be claimed on completion of your Business Activity Statement (BAS). The RAA will not issue a Recipient Created Tax Invoice (RCTI) on payment of the rebate, and you should retain the Payment Advice that is forwarded as a record for taxation purposes.
If you have previously submitted tax returns to the RAA for the financial year 2019/2020 or more recently, you will not need to provide further information.
To make it easier for you to apply, the RAA has access to third party damage assessment information, for example high-resolution imagery, to confirm the extent of the impacts in declared flood-affected local government areas in NSW.
However, it is important that you provide reasonable evidence of severe weather/flood damage with your application so we can fully assess your situation.
Some examples include:
A total of $75,000 is available for primary producers. Funds of up to $25,000 will be provided to eligible, approved applicants, without the need to provide evidence of payment at the point of application. Such funds can be provided on the basis of quotes or estimates.
If you have applied for more than $25,000 you will be required to provide proof of payment such as valid tax invoices for both the first $25,000, as well as any amount that you want to be reimbursed for over $25,000 up to the maximum of $75,000.
You can elect to provide proof of payment such as invoices for the full $75,000 or you can choose to do this in stages as you incur the cost.
The RAA will look at your situation. Some businesses will take a shorter period of time to achieve full production (eg beef cattle) while others will take longer (eg. orchards). We will review your financial statements and look for a trend toward the timeline to full production that fits for your industry.
The Special Disaster Grant is designed to help primary producers pay for immediate clean-up and repairs to infrastructure and replacing livestock (including oyster spat). Eligible activities are outlined in the program guidelines, please check the guidelines prior to applying.
Note Future resilience – focusses on replacement of infrastructure including fencing and roads where the intention of the replacement is to improve resilience to future natural disaster events through the use of more durable materials or design. The intention is to encourage responsible infrastructure replacement rather than business expansion. Funding cannot be used for activities already covered by insurance or other government funding programs.
Yes, you can use the grant to cover the repair or replacement costs of agricultural equipment.
No, the grant cannot be used to reimburse the loss of income.
You can claim for third parties including independent contractors to help with clean up and repair. When it comes to paying staff, the time of owners or shareholders in the business cannot be claimed. You can, however, claim the hours of employees who have no ownership role in the business, where you can show that those hours are above standard day to day wages and can be explained on the basis of cleaning up and repairs in relation to the natural disaster event.
Yes – you can claim for pasture recovery. To assess claims for pasture recovery we need evidence of how much of the paddock has been damaged and an understanding of what the land was being used for prior to the flood and the future intentions. Please provide any supporting information or documents, which could include, previous invoices for expenses, invoices for input costs and/or photos.
Yes – you can claim for salvaging crops and restoring fields. To assess these claims we need evidence of how much of the crop/fields has been damaged and an understanding of what the land was being used for prior to the flood and the future intentions. Please provide any supporting information or documents which could include, previous invoices for expenses, invoices for input costs and/or photos.
Yes - you can use your own machinery however, under the grant guidelines the RAA will only pay for the diesel/fuel cost associated with the use of this that this piece of machinery uses. You will be required to complete a detailed log book showing hours worked, details of improvements, machinery used, etc. and the paid diesel/fuel invoice showing the litres purchased.
Yes - replacement of damaged crops is eligible however, evidence is required to demonstrate the extent of the damages being claimed. Please provide any supporting information or documents which could include, previous invoices for expenses, invoices for input costs and/or photos. Please note if only a portion of the crop has been damaged, the RAA will need to assess the full scope of damages to ascertain those replacement costs that are eligible.
Damages covered by insurance are not eligible to be claimed under this program. You are only able to claim for portions of costs not covered by insurance.
RAA recognises that you may have been impacted by a number of declared disaster events over the past 12 months and that allocating a claim (i.e. an invoice) to any one of these events will be difficult. We ask that you use your best endeavours to ensure proper record keeping. RAA will work with you to allocate a claim (i.e. an invoice) to the relevant event but acknowledges that in some instances this may not be possible. In these circumstances, RAA will use our discretion to allocate the invoice to the most relevant event based on the information provided.
You have 12 months from the date of declaration to submit a claim.
You must submit your claims through the online claims form. You will need to have your tax invoices along with proof of payment. The RAA will send information via email with a link to the claim form once your grant is approved. The claim form will ask you for some of the details found on your invoices and will then ask you to upload a copy of the invoice and proof of payment.
Yes, however you may be required to provide some additional documentation to support your claim.
The RAA expects that all invoices submitted are from a recognised supplier and that the works undertaken are consistent with that supplier’s normal course of business. When assessing claims, the RAA considers the ABN, trading name and address of the entity that has issued the invoice to you, as well as their website, social media or other advertising.
If you are claiming for a product purchased from a non-recognised supplier, such as a related party or another farming enterprise, the RAA will request that the original invoice from the recognised source supplier be provided, as well as proof of payment to the related party or farming enterprise. This is to ensure that there is no double claiming of the same product. It is also to ensure that any product on sold from one applicant to another is done so without additional costs included.
If you are claiming for a service using a non-recognised contractor, we may also request that you provide a third party quote and/or photographic evidence of the damages and the completed works.
Our commitment to you is to assess your application efficiently and effectively to help bring your primary production enterprise back to normal operations as quickly as possible.
The RAA has a strong commitment to fraud prevention, detection, and response. Making a fraudulent application, including providing false or misleading information is a criminal offence which carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment, or a fine of $22,000, or both. The RAA will also attempt to recover any assistance received as a result of fraud. More information can be found on our Fraud and Corruption page on our website.