Emergency - Flood Information

NSW Farmers hopes members are safe following recent heavy and sustained rain. To help you to access the information and support available as you manage flooding and start the recovery process, please find following information and links that you may find useful.

Report your flood damage - Primary industries natural disaster damage survey

The primary industries natural disaster damage survey is a simple online survey that Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and Local Land Services (LLS) staff, farmers and agricultural industry representatives can use to record damage to primary production and animals. This source of “ground truth” information helps the Government and communities understand the scale and regional distribution of the impact of a disaster on agriculture and target resources and assistance in an area. This is a short and simple survey and can be accessed here.

DPI Rural Recovery Support Services

The Department of Primary Industries Rural Recovery Support Service provides assistance to rural landholders and primary producers who have been impacted by the recent floods. DPI Recovery Workers are a single point of contact, providing information and referrals to support recovery. There are 26 Recovery Officers located across the State who can help access information and aid with applications. Further information is available here. Alternately contact this service by email or call 0448 077 684.

NSW Government Agriculture and Animal Services Functional Area (AASFA) hotline

Livestock producers are advised to contact the hotline on 1800 814 647 for immediate assistance for affected farmers, landowners and communities in isolated areas.

Natural Disaster Declarations and Assistance

Forty Three (43) Local Government Areas (LGAs) across NSW have been declared for natural disaster assistance. You can check if a Natural Disaster Declaration applies to your LGA here. If you are in a Natural Disaster Declared LGA the following assistance is currently available.

Natural Disaster Transport Subsidy 

Administered by the NSW Rural Assistance Authority this subsidy is available to eligible farmers affected by a declared natural disaster event. The subsidy pays for the cost of transporting fodder and/or water to an affected property; stock to sale or slaughter;  and stock to/from agistment. A subsidy up to $25,000 can be claimed by an eligible applicant for each declared natural disaster event and paid for transport at a rate of 50% of the total amount paid to the carrier or specified costs for an owner driver. The maximum distance for each movement is 1500 kilometres. Check eligibility and apply here.

Agricultural Commodities Permit – Regional road access for stock feed transport

The NSW Government has introduced a new road access permit to support farmers affected by flooding to transport stock feed. This permit will allow farmers to have heavy vehicle access to all local roads in regional NSW. Permits can be applied for through the NHVR permit portal accessed here.

Concessional Loans for Primary Producers

Primary producers directly affected by a declared natural disaster who are in urgent and genuine need of assistance may be eligible for low interest loans of up to $130,000. Administered by the NSW Rural Assistance Authority, the loan can help a farm business to continue to operate for the next twelve months or until the next income is received and/or replace and repair damage caused to the property and associated improvements not covered by insurance. Check eligibility and apply here.

Disaster Recovery Allowance 

This Australian Government allowance assists employees and sole traders who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster and is payable for a maximum of 13 weeks. The Disaster Recovery Allowance is a taxable, fortnightly payment administered by Services Australia and information about the payments is available here.

Banking Support

The Australian Banking Association is encouraging bank customers to seek support if affected by floods and have published advice here. The following assistance may be available, depending on individual circumstances:  

• A deferral of scheduled loan repayments on home, personal and some business loans for up to 3 months
• Waiving of fees and charges, including for early access to term deposits
• Debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable  
• Restructuring existing loans free of the usual establishment fees  
• Offering additional finance to help cover cash flow shortages  
• Deferring upcoming credit card payments Emergency credit limit increases

Emergency Response and Support – regional communities

If you need to access a broader range of support in response to floods information is available from Service NSW which can be accessed here. 

This information is current at 26 October 2022 and may be subject to change.

If emergency services struggle to find your property, consider downloading the free Emergency+ app here.
The app uses GPS functionality built into smart phones to help a Triple Zero (000) caller provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency services.