Council
9 July, 2025
$75m in drought support on its way
THE Victorian Government has announced an additional $75 million in drought support, which includes a staggering $35.8 million flowing to the south west.
The announcement was made last Thursday evening, with Premier Jacinta Allan saying the Drought Response Taskforce had been listening directly to farmers and regional communities to make sure their voices would shape the support they need.
“We’ve been listening to farmers and communities who are doing it tough – this support delivers real help, right now,” she 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.”
The additional $75 million to help farmers through the drought brings the total support package to $144 million in a bid to protect Victoria’s farming families, food supply and the jobs and communities which rely on it.
The Victorian Government announced $35.8 million in investment would flow to the south west as farmers had been feeling the worst of the drought conditions over the past two years.
Among the benefits will be the Primary Producer Support Payments, which provide eligible farmers with the equivalent of a 40 per cent reduction on their property rates.
The funds will also provide much-needed cash flow relief for farmers in 12 Local Government Areas (LGA) in the south west, including Corangamite and Moyne, with councils to distribute the payments.
The Country Women’s Association will also support the rollout of funds with $2 million in support available to deliver household payments of up to $1000 to struggling families in eligible south west LGAs.
Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence said cashflow relief had been one of the major items raised with the taskforce.
“That’s why we’re helping farmers to create more room in their budgets to deal with the cost pressures they are facing in drought,” she said.
“Responding to the Taskforce and our regional communities, we are investing in both short-term solutions and legacy infrastructure to improve resilience and water security for farmers and their communities.”
The Victorian Government will look to continue state-wide support, with a further $5.9 million in funding 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 also be brought in to support primary producers, in a bid to free up cash for farmers in need to spend on other parts of their business or put into the household budget.
Agriculture Victoria will also 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.
On top of this, Agriculture Victoria will waive indexation on its 2025-26 biosecurity fees and charges and provide targeted fee relief to assist farmers experiencing cashflow challenges.
To view the full range of financial, technical and wellbeing support available to drought impacted farmers, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or phone 136 186.
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