natural disaster & resilience SUPPORT

The Australian Government Drought Plan outlines the Australian Government’s drought policy and programs and explains how the government plans to support farming businesses and communities to prepare for, manage through and recover from drought.

The drought policy aims to:

• build the drought resilience of farming businesses by enabling preparedness, risk management and financial self-reliance

• ensure an appropriate safety net is always available to those experiencing hardship

• encourage stakeholders to work together to address the challenges of drought.

The Drought Plan is informed by a review of the previous one, public consultation and stakeholder discussions. It builds on the long history of drought policy in Australia.

It also helps deliver on the Australian Government’s commitments under the National Drought Agreement. Read more

Disaster assistance is available in several parts of NSW to help communities recovering from severe bushfires.
Jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), the assistance has been activated for the Inverell, Kyogle, and Tenterfield Local Government Areas (LGAs) (for bushfires on 13 October 2023 onwards) and Mid-Western LGA (for bushfires on 17 October onwards). 
Assistance available under the DRFA may include:

• Help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged (eligibility criteria apply)

• Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets

• Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations, and

• Freight subsidies for primary producers.

For information relating to financial assistance, replacing lost documents, location of your nearest recovery centre and more, please contact Service NSW on 137 788 or visit nsw.gov.au
To apply for a concessional loan or primary producer grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Further information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

In the face of devastating fires and floods, the Australian Government combined the efforts of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and Emergency Management Australia, to create a single, enduring, end-to-end agency to better respond to emergencies, help communities recover, and prepare Australia for future disasters.

Find out more at National Emergency Management Agency or read the Statement of Strategic Intent (4.6 MB).