ABARES prepares annual reports and data dashboards on the level of lending to the agricultural sector, based on data collected by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). ABARES also analyse data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC) and ABARES farm surveys.
The dashboard below was last updated on 12 December 2023 to include preliminary data received from APRA for the 2022–23 financial year at an aggregate level. This update provides a significantly more up to date view of agricultural lending than has previously been possible. A full update of the dashboard and report will be released in mid-2024. The complete analysis of 2021–22 debt data remains available on this page – see ‘Download’ section below.
2022–23
- The latest agricultural lending statistics provided by APRA show an increase in aggregate lending to the farm sector in 2022–23 of 5.3% (in real terms). The aggregate value of loans outstanding increased from $109.9 billion at 30 June 2022 to $115.7 billion at 30 June 2023.
- APRA data continues to show sustained increases in lending to the farm sector since 2016–17. The average annual growth rate in aggregate lending from 2016–17 to 2022–23 has been 6.2%.
- Lending to the farm sector increased in all states and territories during 2022–23, with the largest percentage increase in real terms occurring in Tasmania (9.3%).
- The aggregate value of loans and leases that were more than 90 days past due decreased by $138 million during 2022–23. When expressed as a share of total lending, loans more than 90 days past due represented 0.6% of loans and leases in 2022–23, slightly down from 0.7% 2021–22.
The PowerBI dashboard may not meet accessibility requirements. For information about the content of this dashboard contact ABARES.
Note: Dollar values are presented in real terms (adjusted to 2022–23 values). Adjusting to real terms removes the effect of inflation and allows financial values across different time periods to be compared in like terms. ABARES adjusts for inflation using the consumer price index supplied by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
For 2022–23 data, some items in the dashboard are only available at national level for each industry or state level only. These include:
- loans and leases outstanding at 30 June 2023 – national level by industry, and ‘all industries’ level by state
- value of loans and leases more than 90 days past due as a % of all loans and leases outstanding – data are available for ‘all industries’ at national level only
- Number of new instances of debt mediation and foreclosures – data are available for ‘all industries’ at national level only.