Government of Australia understands the importance of the farming sector in our economy. There is no shortage of grants and monetary assistance to farmers and those involved with the agriculture business. These grants prove critical during droughts and times of hardship like Covid-19 pandemic, and bushfire disasters that took place last year.
Small Farms Small Grants
SFSG is a scheme that provides monetary assistance to eligible individuals and companies involved with farming, fishery, and forestry. It is given to help in adoption of sustainable practices. Under this scheme, grants from $5,000 to $1,000,000 are given to eligible people to attain higher profits through sustainable practices. Other objectives of SFSG are protection of natural resources and biodiversity of Australia.
Eligibility requirements
- You must have ABN
- Your business must be registered under GST
- You must have an account with an Australian bank
This is Round 4 of Small Farms Small Grants. The Federal government has set aside $43.5 million under this program to be spent over a period of 6 years.
Farm Household Allowance
Farm Household Allowance is a monetary assistance program under which farming households around the country are given financial assistance if they are experiencing hardships. Couples will receive $13,000 and single people will receive FHA of $7,500 so that they can meet basic household expenses. This support from Australian government is for farmers and their spouses to help them meet hardships which could be drought, bushfire, or a pandemic like Covid-19. In fact recipients of FHA assistance are getting an additional $550 per household per fortnight from 27 April 2020 to fight the impacts of Covid-19.
Eligibility requirements
- You must be an Australian citizen
- You must be a farmer
- You must be over the age of 16
- Your contribution could be in the form of labor or capital
Drought Community Support Initiative
Government of Australia announced Drought Community Support Initiative on 20 February 2020. Round 2 of this program is currently going on under which farming households around the country are being given a onetime grant of $3,000 to fight the impacts of drought. Government has contributed $180 million to DSCI since 2018 to show its commitment to the farming community. If you are a farming household badly affected by drought, you can access DSCI grant from St Vincent de Paul Society or The Salvation Army. Only one payment is allowed per household under DSCI.
To know more about any of these programs or to apply for a grant, please contact one of our friendly advisors at the number mentioned below. And we will do all we can to help you get the required funding.