About us

RIC (Regional Investment Corporation) is an Australian Government provider of low-interest loans for farm businesses and farm-related small businesses.

Our purpose is to support the growth, resilience and sustainability of Australia's agricultural economy.

Our vision is a stronger regional Australia through thriving regions.

We were established under the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 (RIC Act)

RIC reports to both the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and the Department of Finance.

Our head office is in Orange, Central West region of NSW and most of our workforce is based across regional Australia.

Our regional workforce is scalable with full in-house capacity to deliver farm business loans efficiently and effectively for customers.

What we do

RIC specialises in low-interest loans with a focus on assisting eligible farm businesses and farm-related businesses to remain prosperous and grow.

Our loans can be used to prepare for, manage through and recover from severe financial disruption outside of a farmer’s control such as drought, natural disasters, biosecurity and market issues.

Our loans can also be used to help first farmers purchase, establish or development their first farm business, and to assist farm businesses and successors with succession arrangements.

Investment into agriculture through concessional loans has a direct and widespread economic impact on jobs and productivity that strengthens big regions and small towns. The combined economic force of agriculture and regional Australia is why RIC exists.

How our loans make a difference

RIC loans support customers by freeing up cash flow to invest in their farm business, manage cost pressures, variability in conditions and revenue, and increase spending into their local economy.

Improving farm business cash flow and operating position has flow-on effects that benefit the rural and regional communities, economies and agricultural supply chains that depend heavily on agriculture.

We work alongside commercial agribusiness lenders to help farmers manage unforeseen risk so they can get through difficult times and get back on their feet. The long-term result is a stronger, more sustainable agricultural industry.

Discover our customer stories.

Further, RIC can gain insights and data from our customer experience to help inform public policy to strengthen Australian agriculture and build regional economies.

Discover more about the impact and outcomes of RIC low-cost loans.

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Who we are

Our people and our board work to ensure the fair, ethical and timely delivery of our loans.

See our jobs page to discover career opportunities within our RIC team.

Our board

We are governed by an independent board in accordance with the RIC Act.
Read the board charter here.

Our board is appointed by the:

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Minister for Finance

Organisational structure

RIC Organisational Chart

Appointments made under the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018

Name	Role	Appointment Date
Mark Tucker	Member of the Board	28 April 2023
John Howard	Chief Executive Officer	21 November 2022
Sally Freeman	Member of the Board	20 July 2021
Karen Smith-Pomeroy	Chair of the Board	25 March 2020
Sharon Starick	Member of the Board	4 April 2019
Prue Bondfield	Member of the Board	20 April 2018

Our reporting obligations

We are a corporate Commonwealth entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). We meet the reporting obligations detailed in this and other legislation.