The Western Australian Government, in partnership with the Australian Government, is conducting a pilot of drought reform measures in parts of Western Australia.

This pilot will conclude on 30 June 2012. Building Farm Business Grants will continue until 30 June 2014 for existing recipients.

Please note: - The closing date for receipt of Building Farm Business Grant application forms (Form C), together with the strategic plan has been extended to 15 June 2012. Completed and signed grant agreements must be received by 30 June 2012. No late application forms or grant agreements can be accepted.

The DAFWA Plan, Prepare and Prosper Workshops will continue into 2012/13 as a standalone program. There will be no business grants available on completion of the workshops. To register your interest please call: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

Drought pilot region

Click here for a list of local government areas in the pilot region. 

• Overarching Factsheet
• Overarching Frequently Asked Questions
• Map of Drought Pilot Applicants
• PowerPoint Presentation To AAAC
• Information relating to uptake and expenditure to 31 March 2012

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au

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Changes to Drought Assistance by the Australian Government

27 April 2012 - The Australian Government announced some important changes to drought assistance. From 1 July 2012, there will be no interest rate subsidies available in an Exceptional Circumstances declaration. Read the media release on Australia to be drought free.

27 April 2012 - Read the response of the Western Australian Government to this announcement.

If there are any further questions on these changes see http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/assistance/business-support or call the Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

Testimonies

• Bowman Family Case Study
• McWhirter-Brooks Family Case Study
• Tonkin Family Case Study
• Walker Family Case Study

Workshops

The Farm Planning program provides an approved program of free training for farmers to build their skills in business planning. Under the program, farmers develop or update a strategic plan for their farm business. DAFWA is funding and delivering this program.

The training covers the economic aspects of a strategic plan such as risk management and financial planning, social aspects such as personal and business goals and environmental aspects such as managing the impact of a changing climate on production.

There are five modules covered by the workshop series which is held over 5 days. The dates are set as much as possible to suit the farm work demands of the participants.

The plan will identify priority activities to improve the management and preparedness of the farm business to respond to future challenges.

Completion of Farm Planning is a prerequisite for accessing grants under the Building Farm Businesses program. Grants may be available under this program to implement priority activities identified in the strategic plan (see the Building Farm Businesses fact sheet for more information).

• Farm Planning Application Form A
  Note: To complete this online application form type in your details where applicable (use the Tab button to go to the next item), save the document on your computer with your business name within the file name and email it to wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au
  
  It is also necessary to print page 4 of your application, inscribe your signature where indicated and have it witnessed, and mail this page to:
  
  Department of Agriculture and Food
  Attn: Farm Planning, c/o Rural Business Development Unit
  Locked Bag 4
  Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983
  
  
• Farm Planning Information Notes and how to complete Application Form A
• Farm Planning Fact Sheet
• Farm Planning Frequently Asked Questions
• Farm Planning Program Guidelines (includes DAFWA contact details)

For those who make the difficult decision to leave farming, there are a range of other assistance options available under the pilot.

Support available through the Farm Planning program includes up to $1,000 paid by reimbursement to the farm business to offset the costs of attendance at training sessions such as travel, accommodation and childcare costs.

• Farm Planning Application Form B
• Farm Planning information notes and how to complete Form B

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au

Building Farm Businesses (BFB) provides grants to eligible farm businesses. BFB grants of up to $30,000 per farm business are available to Farm Planning applicants on a first come, first serve basis. Funds available for BFB grants are capped at $20.1m. Therefore farmers are encouraged to register and complete the Farm Planning program as early as possible to facilitate their early BFB grant application. Because of the funding cap, not all eligible farm business will get a grant.

The available grants are:

• Farm Business Adaptation Grants—for eligible activities that support farm businesses to manage and prepare for the impacts of drought, reduced water availability and a changing climate.
  
• Landcare Adaptation Grants—for eligible activities that have a natural resource management focus, have a broader public benefit and are consistent with state and national natural resource management priorities.

Phase 2 grants are open for application from 1 July 2011 to 15 June 2012. The closing date for receipt of Building Farm Business Grant application forms (Form C), together with the strategic plan has been extended to 15 June 2012. Completed and signed grant agreements must be received by 30 June 2012. No late application forms or grant agreements can be accepted.

Farm businesses are only eligible for one Farm Business Adaptation grant and one Landcare Adaptation grant over the life of the program.

Grants under Phase 1 were up to a combined value of $60,000 per farm business. This funding has been fully allocated.

Downloads

• Building Farm Businesses Fact Sheet
• Building Farm Businesses Frequently Asked Questions
• Building Farm Businesses Program Guidelines (includes DAFWA contact details); Note – The closing date for receipt of Building Farm Business Grant application forms (Form C), together with the strategic plan has been extended to 15 June 2012. Completed and signed grant agreements must be received by 30 June 2012. No late application forms or grant agreements can be accepted.
• Building Farm Businesses Application Form C
• Building Farm Businesses information notes and how to complete Form C

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au

Farm Social Support

Support for a better coordinated social support network through Centrelink to meet the mental health, counselling and other social needs of farming families and rural communities.

• Farm Family Support Fact Sheet
• Farm Family Support Frequently Asked Questions

Farm Family Support

Income support from Centrelink for farmers facing financial hardship, allowing them to meet basic household expenses.

• Farm Family Support Fact Sheet
• Farm Family Support Frequently Asked Questions

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au

Under the Western Australian Drought Pilot of drought reform measures the Australian Government provided $1.44 million for the 2011 - 12 Farm Exit Support program to provide grants to farmers who had exchanged contracts and settled the sale of their properties and left farming.

The Farm Exit Support program is one of the measures tested as part of the Western Australian Pilot of drought reform measures which concludes on 30 June 2012.

Funding for the Pilot’s Farm Exit Support program is fully subscribed and now closed to new applications.

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Human Services on telephone 13 2316, or on the Internet at http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/drought-pilot/farm-exit-support

Beyond Farming puts current farmers in touch with former farmers to talk about opportunities outside of farming. It enables them to talk to someone who has been in the same position about the options for themselves and their families if selling the farm business or retiring.

• Beyond Farming Fact Sheet
• Beyond Farming Frequently Asked Questions

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au

Stronger Rural Communities Program

The Stronger Rural Communities program forms part of the Pilot of Drought Reform Measures in WA and covers three broad initiatives:

• The WA Farm Training Scheme
• Professional Support for Non Farm Regional Small Businesses Grants Scheme (this scheme is now fully subscribed for 2011/12) and
• The Recognition of Prior Learning or Skills Passport Project

The pilot of drought reform measures currently being delivered in Western Australia include a ‘Farm Planning’ series of workshops in which farmers develop a strategic plan for their farm business and a ‘Building Farm Businesses’ grant component that assists farmers to co-fund and implement the activities identified in their strategic plans.

The ‘WA Farm Training Scheme’ complements and supports these components of strategic planning. In essence the ‘WA Farm Training Scheme’ will ‘drill down’ and provide further in-depth training on certain targeted aspects of farm management including:

• Human Resource Development
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Succession Planning
• Financial Management
• Commodity Selling and Marketing and
• Other Training for which there is a clearly demonstrated need.

The aim is to provide farmers with additional targeted training opportunities to enable them to further improve their management skills in these areas and to increase their business resilience. This, in turn, will assist in building stronger rural communities.

The ‘Professional Support for Non Farm Regional Small Businesses Grants Scheme’ objective is to help cover the cost of professional services to:

• Increase resilience of non-farm regional small businesses;
• Enhance their capacity to withstand the impact of future dry seasons; and
• To build stronger rural communities

The ‘Recognition of Prior Learning or Skills Passport Project’ is a trial program which will provide farmers and rural communities with the opportunity to gain formal, marketable qualifications to assist with the transition to an alternative career or to gain supplementary employment.

Further information on these ‘Stronger Rural Communities’ initiatives may be found in the following documents:

• Stronger Rural Communities Fact Sheet
• Stronger Rural Communities Frequently Asked Questions
• WA Farm Training Scheme – Training Concept and Guidelines
• Professional Help for Non Farm Regional Small Businesses – 2011 Small Business Grants Scheme Information (SBDC)
• Farm Training Course Register
• Recognition of Prior Learning Fact Sheet for Candidates
• Recognition of Prior Learning Fact Sheet for Stakeholders

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au

Forms

• Farm Planning Fact Sheet
• Farm Planning Frequently Asked Questions
• Farm Planning Program Guidelines (includes DAFWA contact details)
• Farm Planning Application Form A
• Farm Planning Information Notes and how to
  complete Application Form A
• Farm Planning Application Form B
• Farm Planning information notes and how to complete Form B
• Building Farm Businesses Fact Sheet
• Building Farm Businesses Frequently Asked Questions
• Building Farm Businesses Program Guidelines (includes DAFWA contact details)
• Building Farm Businesses Application Form C
• Building Farm Businesses information notes and how to complete Form C

Stronger Rural Communities Initiatives

• WA Farm Training Scheme – Training Concept and Guidelines
• WA Farm Training Scheme – Training Proposal and Course Registration Form
  
• Professional Help for Non Farm Regional Small Businesses – 2011 Small Business Grants Scheme Information (SBDC)
• Professional Help for Non Farm Regional Small Businesses – 2011 Small Business Grants Scheme Needs Assessment Form (SBDC)
• Recognition of Prior Learning Registration Form

Contacts

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

Visit: Website
Email: Drought Pilot
Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16

For Farm Planning enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall)

For grant enquiries: 1800 198 231 (WA Freecall) or email wapilot@agric.wa.gov.au