Drought preparation for primary producers

• Plan for rising costs of products, produce and water.
• Plan and document how to deal with supply chain alternatives.
• Read how to respond to supply chain disruptions.

• Monitor the:
  • Bureau of Meteorology drought knowledge centre
  • Queensland drought declarations and revocations
  • Queensland drought maps showing drought declared areas
  • your local council website for water restrictions, alerts and updates
• Keep up to date with climate information – including seasonal climate outlooks, rainfall and pasture growth, and a drought conditions update on the Long Paddock website.

• Look after the mental health and wellbeing of your staff and family, as well as yourself.
• Find out about counselling services for drought-affected communities.
• Stay connected to your local community, industry and neighbours.
• Remember it's okay to accept assistance, even if you think others are worse off.

• Find information on drought assistance for the beef industry.
• Read about managing sheep in drought.
• Find out about welfare of drought-affected livestock.
• You may need to seek new and alternative stockfeed options. Learn about preventing chemical residues in food-producing animals while drought feeding.
• Find out about pest animal and weed management in drought-affected areas.

• Find a drought decisions checklist for horticulture.
• Identify and target crop diseases. Grow Help Australia can test some crops for diseases and pests.

• Learn about drought assistance for primary producers, including:
  • Drought Assistance Program
  • Drought Relief Assistance Scheme (DRAS) subsidies and rebates
  • Drought Relief from Electricity Charges Scheme (DRECS)
  • land rent and water-related assistance
  • transport-related assistance
  • drought loans, allowances and projects
  • Farm Business Resilience Program
• Work with your accountant, lawyer or advisers on credit and repayment plans.
• Speak to a free rural financial counsellor on 1300 771 741.
• Contact your bank, creditors and debtors to discuss options. Find advice on communicating with your bank.
• Contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to find help managing your tax affairs during a drought.

• Update staff and offer support – find contact details for support services.
• Learn more about managing, paying or standing down your staff and your obligations as an employer.

• Connect with your local community, neighbouring businesses and disaster recovery centres to find out how you can help your community, or they can help you.
• Accept volunteer and community support – people want to help and you are not alone.

Contact your bank

• Ask your bank about financial hardship options, for example:
  • changing loan terms
  • temporarily pausing or reducing repayments
  • deferring repayments and interest payments (all missed payments and interest will need to be repaid)
  • waiving fees and charges
  • consolidating your debt
  • finance to help cover cash flow shortages
  • deferring upcoming credit card payments
  • increasing emergency credit card limits
  • waiving early termination fees to access term deposits.
• Provide loan details (account name and number, payment amounts) and an overview of your financial situation.
• Request a hardship variation by using the sample letter generator from the Financial Rights Legal Centre to send to your bank.
• Your bank must advise you within 21 days about your hardship request. If you can't negotiate a variation, you can:
  • contact the bank's internal dispute resolution team
  • visit the Australian Financial Complaints Authority or phone 1800 931 678 to make a complaint, and get free advice and independent dispute resolution.
• Speak to a rural financial counsellor if you are experiencing, or at risk of, financial hardship. It is a free, confidential service and can give you individual support to meet your needs and help you to make the right decisions for your business. This could include assistance with talking to your bank about your financial matters.

Contact utility providers

• Contact your utility providers' hardship team about electricity, gas, phone or water bill payment options.

• Contact your insurer if you:
  • aren't sure the event is covered by insurance – you may be able to claim under your business interruption or income protection insurance
  • have lost your policy documents – your insurer will have a copy.
• Contact the Insurance Council of Australia (phone 1800 734 621) if you have questions about your policy or don't know who your insurer is.
• Check your insurance policy:
  • review your cover
  • provides emergency or advance funds for wages or recovery activities.
• Gather all information about the claim:
  • complete an event log
  • items to claim and when purchased
  • photo and/or video evidence.
• Make a claim and resolve issues:
  • lodge claim as soon as possible – don't wait for a full damage assessment before making a claim
    • insurers must fast track a claim if you can demonstrate 'financial need' (read item 64 of the General Insurance Code of Practice) – if the insurer agrees, an advance payment must be made within 5 days
    • your insurer must inform you of their decision to accept or deny your claim 10 business days after receiving all relevant information and completing all enquiries
  • contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on 1800 931 678 if you can't reach agreement with your insurer
  • phone Legal Aid Queensland on 1300 651 188 if you need information and advice on how to get a claim paid.