Up to $5M is available from AgRebuild Loan to help flood-affected Northern Queensland farmers restock, replant and recover.
AgRebuild Loan
AgRebuild Loan provides concessional loans to farm businesses to help them restock, replant and recover from the impacts of the North and Far North Queensland Monsoon Trough from 25 January to 14 February 2019.
Background
The Australian Government, through the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC), is providing AgRebuild Loans to eligible farm businesses. The loans aim to support farm businesses in their long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts and ensure they remain resilient and profitable.
Farm businesses must be experiencing hardship or extreme hardship and have sound prospects of long-term financial viability. The AgRebuild Loan is part of a range of support and risk management measures provided by the Australian Government.
Funding
Loans of up to $5 million, over a 10 year period are available. The loan is interest free for the first two years.
Under hardship provisions only:
- Farm businesses may apply to refinance up to 50 per cent of their commercial debt.
- Farm businesses may apply for new debt up to the amount they already hold as commercial debt.
Eligible Projects
You may use an AgRebuild Loan for:
- replace lost stock or crops
- replant crops
- restore or replace on-farm infrastructure lost or damaged as a direct result of the North Queensland flood
- meet operating expenses relating to the damage arising out of the North Queensland flood (eg. transporting livestock, obtaining finance, alternative accommodation)
- refinance existing debt
Operating expenses can include expenses such as:
- cost of transporting livestock or produce during and directly after the floods
- costs associated with obtaining other finance (such as an overdraft or a line of credit) to enable the farm business to continue operating, and
- costs of obtaining any alternative accommodation required as a result of the floods.
You may use your AgRebuild Loan to refinance:
- commercial debt. In cases of hardship, you can refinance up to 50 per cent of existing commercial debt. In cases of extreme hardship, you can refinance up to 100 per cent of existing commercial debt.
- government-funded concessional loans (if you wish to refinance an existing concessional loan.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible, your farm business must:
- have been directly impacted by the monsoon trough and be in financial need
- be located in an eligible local government area
- be registered for tax purposes in Australia with an ABN and be registered for GST
- be in the agriculture, horticulture, pastoral, apiculture, or aquaculture industry
- if not located in an eligible local government area, have an Individual Disaster Stricken Property (IDSP) notice
- retain 50 percent of the farms commercial debt with a commercial lender except in cases of extreme hardship
- have the capacity to repay the loan
- be financially viable in the long term
- operate as a sole trader, trust, partnership or private company
If your farm business was directly affected by and is experiencing hardship as a result of the North Queensland Flood and you are located in one of the following Local Government Areas (LGAs) then you are eligible (subject to meeting other criteria). The LGAs that have been identified as being affected are:
- Burdekin
- Burke
- Carpentaria
- Cloncurry
- Douglas
- Flinders
- Hinchinbrook
- McKinlay
- Richmond
- Townsville
- Winton
Timing
Applications close 30 June 2020.
