Grants are available from QRAA to assist your primary production enterprise to pay for costs arising out of direct damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

What assistance is available?

Grants of up to $25,000 are available to assist eligible primary producers as follows:

• Initial grant: up to $5,000 to assist you with immediate recovery
• Subsequent grant: up to $20,000 to recover costs that you have paid in order to repair direct cyclone damage.

Assistance under this scheme is not intended to compensate for loss of income. Assistance provided is subject to future audit.

How can the assistance help you?

The assistance enables you to cover the costs associated with cleaning and restoration activities including:

• purchasing, hiring or leasing plant, equipment or materials to clean or resume business activities
• clearing or disposing of debris and damaged goods or injured or dead livestock
• repairing buildings or essential fittings in buildings other than houses
• repairing or reconditioning essential plant or equipment
• repairing roads, fences and dams and other essential infrastructure
• repairing or restoring fields and purchasing fodder or saving crops or feed for livestock
• replacing lost or damaged stock (other than livestock)
• maintain the health of livestock or poultry
• engaging a person to clean or conduct a safety inspection of premises
• paying additional wages to an employee to assist with the clean-up and restoration work.

Eligible areas

To apply for assistance for direct damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Yasi in February 2011, you must be located in one of the following local government areas (current as at 29/06/2011): 

<sup>1. Charters Towers Regional Council (north of latitude 20 degrees, 12 minutes south between the Flinders Shire border and Pentlands – Gregory Springs Road, and north of a line following down the Basalt River, up the Burdekin River and the Star River, and north of the Harvey Range Road between the Star River and the Townsville City Council border) activated 22/02/11. Area increased 10/03/11 (north of latitude 20 degrees, 12 minutes south).
2. Croydon Shire Council (east of the Croydon Richmond Road, and north of the Gulf Development Road east of longitude142 degrees east)
3. Flinders Shire Council (north of latitude 20 degrees, 12 minutes south)
4. Isaac Regional Council (east of Connors Range and north of Oakey Creek)
5. Richmond Shire Council (north latitude 20 degrees, 12 minutes south and east of the Croydon Richmond Road)</sup>

Who is eligible to apply?

To be eligible for the grant you must:

• be a primary producer
• have been engaged in your primary production enterprise, in the prescribed disaster area and have suffered direct damage as a result of Tropical Cyclone Yasi
• intend to re-establish your primary production enterprise
• be responsible for meeting the costs you are claiming.

Primary producers in these areas above that have suffered direct damage and who have generated more than 50 per cent of their income from their businesses are eligible to apply.

Please note, further criteria apply. Please refer to the Guidelines for further information (including terms and conditions) on this assistance.

How to apply?

Complete and submit the Special Disaster Assistance Application Form to QRAA.  Applications must be received by QRAA no later than 31 October 2012.

To apply for the initial grant up to $5,000, what do I need to provide with my application?

To support the initial claim, some evidence of direct damage that has occurred to your enterprise will be required. (e.g. photographs, quotes and/or tax invoices.)

To apply for the subsequent grant up to $20,000, what do I need to provide with my application?

The subsequent claim requires you to have made payments for repairs. QRAA will require:

1. tax invoices showing full details of goods or services supplied (to be identifiable as cyclone related damage on the invoice), including the initial claim up to $5,000 and
2. an official receipt from the supplier or contractor – if this cannot be obtained, photocopies of cheque butts, bank transfers and bank statements will be required, including for the initial claim up to $5,000.

Financial hardship

If you are unable to pay for clean up and restoration costs you may be eligible to apply for assistance under financial hardship whereby QRAA will pay for these costs direct to suppliers.

To be eligible for financial hardship you must hold a current low income health care card from Centrelink or provide a certificate (letter) from a suitably qualified person (e.g. accountant or bank manager) stating that paying for these costs would put your enterprise in doubt (see guidelines for further information).

If you are applying for financial hardship please provide a copy of your low income health care card from Centrelink or a copy of your letter, along with quote for works to be completed and submit with the subsequent claim form. QRAA will advise of an approval in principle based on quotations provided, and payment will be made direct to the supplier after the supplier has provided a tax invoice(s) for eligible costs.

If you have any questions, assistance is available...

Should you have any queries regarding the disaster assistance, our Client Liaison Officers are available to assist you or please contact us in Brisbane on Freecall 1800 623 946.

Other assistance available

QRAA also administers low interest loans of up to $250,000 to primary producers under the Natural Disaster Assistance scheme.