If you are affected by natural disaster and are seeking emergency assistance, visit Disaster Assist or Services Australia for support.
Manage through and recover from prolonged and severe drought.
To support eligible farm businesses to manage through and recover from prolonged drought of at least 2 years and are expected to be financially impacted by drought for at least the next 12 months.
Use this loan to:
Pay outstanding bills and manage essential day to day farm expenses such as wages, utilities, insurance and other administrative costs.
Purchase fodder and cover water carting costs to support livestock and produce.
To cover transport costs of livestock, crops or produce.
At the time a RIC loan is approved, you must initially have commercial debt equal to or more than the amount held in Commonwealth-funded concessional loans (including the Drought Hardship Loan and other RIC loans).
An eligible farm business may only hold up to $3 million in concessional loans across previous and existing government-funded concessional loans (Commonwealth and state, including RIC loans). The exception is the Commonwealth’s Dairy Recovery Concessional Loans where they may hold up to $ 4 million
Monthly, quarterly, or half yearly, tailored to the cash flow of the farm business.
Nothing to pay in the first 2 years. Interest will accrue to be repaid when principal and interest repayments commence in year 3 of the 5-year term.
* Any changes to interest rates will be effective on 1 February and 1 August each year.
** Interest will accrue in the first 2 years to be paid within the 5-year loan term. Principal and interest repayments commence in year 3.
*** RIC does not charge application fees or ongoing loan management fees. Borrowers may need to pay third‑party costs associated with establishing, varying or managing their loan.
The eligible primary production activities undertaken by a farm business to access RIC’s Farm Business loans, are those listed as part of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision 2.0) codes for 01 Agriculture and 02 Aquaculture, with some exceptions.
Read more about RIC eligible industries
View the details of primary production activities identified in DIVISION A – AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING of the industry classifications.
To be eligible for a Drought Hardship Loan, your farm business must be either, located in an affected area, or not located in an affected area however RIC is satisfied that the area the farm business is located within is affected by drought.
Please see the map below.
Please contact us on 1800 875 675 or email info@ric.gov.au to discuss the affected area eligibility of the Drought Hardship Loan.
We will assess your application against the criteria in the loan guidelines.
Read the detail on who can apply for a loan and what happens after you apply.
If applying online, follow the document checklist to ensure you submit a complete application.
We recommend you use the online application form.
An offline, hardcopy form is available for download below.
Only use the offline form if you prefer to submit your application by email or post.
Complete this form on your computer, or print and fill it in by hand using a black or blue ink pen only.
We will assess your application against the criteria in the loan guidelines.
Read the detail on who can apply for a loan and what happens after you apply.
If applying online, follow the document checklist to ensure you submit a complete application.
We recommend you use the online application form.
An offline, hardcopy form is available for download below.
Only use the offline form if you prefer to submit your application by email or post.
Complete this form on your computer, or print and fill it in by hand using a black or blue ink pen only.
General
No closing date has been advised. RIC loans are generally always available for eligible farm businesses and are an option as part of a package of drought support programs offered by the Australian Government.
The Australian Government no longer makes drought declarations. You do not need a drought declaration to apply for a RIC Drought Hardship Loan. RIC Agri Lending Specialists will consider a range of factors including the historical rainfall deficiency and outlook data for where the farm business is located, historical and current financial statements, and projections for the next 12 months.
No. This loan is to support farmers in severe, long-term drought to manage through by helping to pay for operating expenses.
To be eligible for a Drought Hardship Loan, you must be able to demonstrate you have been in drought for at least two years, and you expect to be financially impacted by drought for at least the next 12 months. Please don’t self-assess. You can call us on 1800 875 675 to discuss your individual circumstances.
The interest is accrued daily and added to your loan at the end of year 1 and then the end of year 2.
Yes, you can repay your loan at any time.
Yes, farm businesses with other Commonwealth and State-based concessional loans can apply for a RIC Drought Hardship Loan, noting that the value of these must not exceed $3 million. Existing RIC farm business loan customers may also apply for a Drought Hardship Loan.
RIC’s Drought Loan can assist eligible farmers to prepare, manage through or recover from drought. Farmers may also apply for a RIC Farm Investment Loan if they’ve been financially affected by drought and other natural disasters like bushfire. Additional support programs available beyond RIC loans are listed here.
RIC does not charge application fees or ongoing loan management fees. Borrowers may need to pay third‑party costs associated with establishing, varying or managing their loan.
For existing customers
Yes. Farmers can apply for state-based concessional loans and a RIC loan and will need to satisfy eligibility, credit and risk assessment criteria. We encourage farmers not to self-assess and to contact us to discuss their individual situation.
The last time Jonathan and Leah received their average rainfall was in late 2023. Since then, they’ve had well below their average rainfall and not enough feed to sustain their stock levels.
To manage through the drought, they have destocked almost everything except their breeding herd and are currently buying feed for them. With such reduced stock numbers their finances will be affected again this year so they’re applying for a RIC Drought Hardship Loan to pay for operating costs.
Mandy has been a RIC customer since 2022 when she took out an AgriStarter Loan to purchase land from her parents as part of their farm business succession plan.
The farm business transition had been going well but the region where their farm business is located has been dry since early 2024. It’s predicted to be another tough season, so Mandy won’t plant a crop. A RIC Drought Hardship Loan will support the payment of necessary farm operating expenses through this period.
Margaret and Gerry have a mixed farming operation that was affected by a natural disaster several years ago. They were able to take out a state-based concessional loan to rebuild lost and damaged infrastructure.
Since then, they’ve experienced dry conditions over the past few years so have had to destock and buy feed to manage through. They can apply for a RIC Drought Hardship Loan to help with their operating costs.
Explore our educational toolkit to help you understand if you are eligible for a RIC loan.
Check what you need before starting an application, download helpful resources and apply for a RIC loan.
Get in touch if you have a question about the Drought Hardship Loan.
