Australian and State Government assistance is available for locally owned agriculture-dependent small businesses that have been affected by drought conditions or other events that have been declared as Exceptional Circumstances to assist those businesses in meeting operating and other essential costs.

Eligible small businesses may apply for interest subsidies of up to a maximum of $100,000* a year on new** or existing loans. Interest rate subsidies are provided at up to 50 per cent of the interest payable on new** and existing loans for the first year of an Exceptional Circumstance declaration and up to 80 per cent in the second and subsequent years.

Announcements 

On 10 February 2010, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced that agriculture-dependent small businesses in Queensland's Gulf region who were severely affected by floodwaters last year can now access Exceptional Circumstances assistance.

For a full description of the Gulf region, please visit the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website 

Exceptional Circumstance declared areas 

Each Exceptional Circumstance declared area link in the table below will take you to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.

How do I apply for Small Business Exceptional Circumstance Assistance?

QRAA requires a completed Application form to be submitted. Should you have questions regarding your application, please contact us on Freecall 1800 623 946.

Are there terms and conditions for this assistance?

To be eligible for the assistance businesses must:

• derive 70% or more of their turnover from goods or services for farming activities in Exceptional Circumstance declared areas; or
• be located in a town, within an Exceptional Circumstance area, that has a population of less than 10,000 and be dependent on farming enterprises for all or part of its business turnover.

NOTE: As announced by the Australian Government on 26 February 2007, small businesses with 100 or less employees are eligible to receive Small Business Exceptional Circumstances Assistance. For further information, please view the Australian Government press release below:

27/02/07 'Drought assistance for "bigger" small businesses'

*Pro rata if a declaration is for a period less than one year
**Our programs are subject to terms and conditions that identify the required eligibility criteria for each program. If you are interested in applying for this assistance, please view the guidelines below:

Small Business Exceptional Circumstances Assistance Guidelines (45KB)

Small Business Exceptional Circumstances Assistance Guidelines (116KB)

If you have any questions, assistance is available…

Should you have any queries regarding the support available for small businesses, our staff are happy to assist you. Please contact us on Freecall 1800 623 946.