Drought is a recurring feature of the Australian landscape. It is forecast to become more frequent, severe and longer lasting in many regions as the climate changes.
The Australian Government is working with farmers, rural communities, the states and territories, and the farm, finance and not-for-profit sectors to build Australia’s capacity to withstand drought.
We all have a role to play in drought.
Need help?
Check current drought and rural support we provide.
Find services and support near you from governments, charities and other organisations.
Call the Farmer Assistance Hotline on 132 316.
What we are doing
As of April/May 2024
Future Drought Fund (investing $100 million a year to build drought resilience)
- 8 drought hubs with over 125 on-ground projects
- Over 180 other drought resilience projects funded
- Over 30,000 farmers engaged in business and risk management training
- 243 organisations and more than 1,000 people supported to build community drought resilience
- Around 70 regions undertaking drought resilience planning
Other Australian Government programs
- Almost 2,220 farmers and their partners currently on Farm Household Allowance
- 42,894 farm management deposit accounts
- 3,081 concessional loans settled for farm and related small businesses
Our Drought Plan
The Australian Government is developing a new plan to explain how it supports farmers to prepare for, manage through and recover from drought.
The new plan is informed by a review of the previous one: the Australian Government’s Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan, published in 2019. A draft of the new plan was released for public comment in July 2024. The new plan is expected to be finalised in late 2024.
Download the review of the previous plan
Review of the Australian Government Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan (PDF 394 KB)
Review of the Australian Government Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan (DOCX 1.0 MB)
Download the previous plan
Australian Government’s Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan (PDF 609 KB)
Australian Government’s Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan (DOCX 3.8 MB)
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
An implementation review of the previous plan was also undertaken for the period from July 2020 to June 2021.
Download the implementation review of the previous plan
Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan: Australian Government implementation review 2020-21 (PDF 1.4 MB)
Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan: Australian Government implementation review 2020-21 (DOCX 2.8 MB)
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
How we work with others
The Australian Government works with state and territory governments to co-ordinate our approach to drought policy and programs through the National Drought Agreement.
We also partner with the farm and finance industries, charities and other not-for-profit organisations to help farmers and rural communities get ready for drought, through the National Drought Network, National Drought Forum and other, regular engagement.
Australia experiences drought in 3 stages:
- preparing for drought
- responding to drought
- recovering from drought.
Different regions, industries and farmers will be at different stages of the cycle at any one time.
For farmers and rural communities:
- Before drought, it’s time to prepare for drier times ahead.
- During drought, it’s time to action your drought plan and make early decisions to manage the impacts.
- After drought, it’s time to recover and use the lessons learned to build back better.
The Australian Government is there with you at each stage of the cycle.
By adapting to the drought cycle, Australian farming can remain profitable and sustainable. It can continue to protect our land and water, strengthen rural communities, secure the nation’s food supply and grow our economy.
The Australian Government is improving how it monitors drying conditions and impacts on farmers and regional communities.
Drought isn’t just about how much rain falls on a farm. The capacity to cope with dry conditions also depends on other factors. These include when rain falls, what the prevailing temperature, water balances, commodity prices and input costs are, and what financial and other reserves remain. Some of these factors are being integrated into an early warning system for drought.
The system will help translate climate data into current and future impacts on agriculture. It will feed Bureau of Meteorology seasonal forecasts into ABARES and CSIRO models to estimate rainfall deficiencies, soil moisture, pasture growth, crop yield and farm profit for 5km areas. These indicators will provide government with monthly data about the extent, severity and timing of impacts as conditions dry.
The system will support the Australian Government’s drought decision-making framework which is being developed to inform future government responses to drought. This framework will draw on the system’s data about emerging impacts as well as what we hear from organisations, industries, governments and our staff in affected regions. Through data, and a deeper understanding of what’s happening on the ground, we can work with all stakeholders to prepare for, manage and recover from drought.
Many of the data sources, models and tools that feed into the early warning system are also available publicly, for use by farmers, their advisers, industry and other organisations. They can be accessed via:
- Climate Services for Agriculture
- ABARES farm data portal
- Bureau of Meteorology climate outlook
- Bureau of Meteorology drought statement
- Bureau of Meteorology Australian water outlook
- National Landcare Program vegetation cover time series.
Our work builds on the long history and significant evolution of drought policy in Australia.
By reviewing how we manage the drought cycle, we can continue to improve our approach.
The National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency reviewed the most recent drought package. It found the package had positive impacts on drought affected farmers, communities and small businesses. It also highlighted opportunities for improvement.