New drought support package announced

THE Victorian government has announced a new $75 million suite of drought support measures, bringing the total support package to $144 million.

The measures, revealed earlier today (Friday, July 4), include $35.8 million to help farming households in Victoria’s south west manage the pressures they are facing due to prolonged drought.

The Primary Producer Support Payments will provide eligible farmers with the equivalent of a 40 per cent reduction on their property rates.

This will apply in 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in south-west Victoria, including Surf Coast Shire, City of Greater Geelong and Colac Otway Shire. Local councils will distribute the payments.

To reduce the impact on household budgets, the Country Women’s Association is receiving $2 million to deliver household payments of up to $1,000 to struggling families in eligible south-west LGAs.

There will be $5.9 million to continue critical technical decision-making support, mental health services, timely farm debt mediation and engagement activities for another 12 months.

A $6.3 million fee and duty relief package will free up cash for farmers in need to spend on other parts of their business or put into the household budget.

Agriculture Victoria will work with the livestock biosecurity compensation fund advisory committees, Dairy Food Safety Victoria and PrimeSafe to explore opportunities to waive biosecurity duties and regulatory fees and charges.

Agriculture Victoria will waive indexation on its 2025-26 biosecurity fees and charges and provide
targeted fee relief to assist farmers experiencing cashflow challenges.

There are also several initiatives to improve access to water across Victoria, including $15 million towards extending the East Grampians Rural Pipeline, $3 million to expand Victoria’s Emergency Supply Point network and install new access points or upgrade existing ones, and $2.5 million to leverage existing groundwater bores to access water for domestic and stock usage in drought-affected areas.

“We’ve been listening to farmers and communities who are doing it tough – this support delivers real help, right now,” Premier Jacinta Allan said.

“This isn’t just about dollars – it’s about backing the people who feed our state and the regional communities that keep our state strong.

“Thank you to the members of the Taskforce – Victorians from different communities, backgrounds and political parties who came together to deliver real relief for farming communities.”

To view the full range of financial, technical and wellbeing support available to drought-affected farmers, head to agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or phone 136 186.