Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Drought, disaster and rural support
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Levies and charges on agricultural products
    • Mouse infestation advice
    • Plant health
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Report a concern
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Plant Innovation Centre
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We enhance our agricultural industries and trade, and manage the threat of biosecurity risks to Australia.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Budget 2025-26

    Budget 2025-26

    The 2025–26 Portfolio Budget Statements were released on 25 March 2025.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Agriculture and land
  3. Farming, food and rural support
  4. Drought, disaster and rural support
  5. Drought policy

Sidebar first - Farming

  • Drought, disaster and rural support
    • Future Drought Fund
      • Case studies
      • Climate Services for Agriculture
      • Drought Resilience Commercialisation Initiative
      • Drought Resilience Research and Adoption program
        • Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs
          • Drought Resilience Innovation Grants
          • Science to Practice Forum
      • Drought Resilience Research and Adoption National Enabling Activities
      • Drought Resilience Self-Assessment Tool
      • Farm Business Resilience Program
      • Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative
      • Monitoring, evaluation and learning
      • Natural Resource Management Drought Resilience Program – Grants
      • Natural Resource Management Drought Resilience Program — Landscapes
      • Next phase of the Future Drought Fund
      • Productivity Commission Review
      • Regional Drought Resilience Planning
    • Farm Household Allowance
      • Farm Household Allowance data dashboard
      • FHA factsheets and guidelines
      • Review of the Farm Household Allowance (FHA)
    • Farm Management Deposits
      • Farm Management Deposits Statistics
      • Historical Farm Management Deposits Statistics
      • Information for Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs)
      • Information for primary producers
      • FMD Rainfall Analyser
      • FMD Rainfall Analyser FAQs
      • Reviews of the Farm Management Deposits Scheme
    • Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS)
      • Small Business Support
      • Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) reviews
    • Regional Investment Corporation
    • Social support and wellbeing
    • Taxation measures
    • Farm debt mediation
    • Drought policy
      • Drought engagement
      • History of drought policy
        • Government actions addressing the Coordinator-General for Drought’s advice
      • National Drought Agreement
    • Managing farm risk

Drought policy

 

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 agriculture, finance and not-for-profit sectors to build Australia’s capacity to withstand drought.

We all have a role to play in drought.

Stay up to date and have your say on drought-related policies and programs.

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 December 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 46,000 farmers engaged in business and risk management training
  • 289 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 2,891 farmers and their partners currently on Farm Household Allowance
  • 41,337 farm management deposit accounts
  • 3,247 concessional loans settled for farm and related small businesses

Our Drought Plan

Cover of the Drought Plan

Australian Government Drought Plan

The Drought Plan explains the Australian Government’s drought policy and how we support farming businesses and communities to prepare for, manage through and recover from drought.

  • Download PDF - 13.7 MB
  • Download Word - 3.3 MB

Our drought policy aims to:

  • build the drought resilience of farming businesses by enabling preparedness, risk management and financial self-reliance
  • ensure an appropriate safety net is always available to those experiencing hardship
  • encourage stakeholders to work together to address the challenges of drought.

The Drought Plan is informed by a review of the previous one, public consultation and stakeholder discussions. It builds on the long history of drought policy in Australia. It also helps deliver on the Australian Government’s commitments under the National Drought Agreement.

How the plan makes a difference

Find out what the plan means for farming businesses and communities, and the organisations that support them.

The Drought Plan shows how we deliver on our commitments under the National Drought Agreement.

The National Drought Agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Australian, state and territory governments before, during and after drought.

The Australian Government will: 

  • run the Future Drought Fund (FDF)
    • $519.1 million over 8 years
  • deliver a household support payment for farming families
    • Farm Household Allowance
  • provide incentives for farmers to manage risk
    • Farm Management Deposit
    • other primary producer concessions
    • RIC loans
  • maintain national drought and climate information
    • Bureau of Meteorology
    • My Climate View

State and territory governments will:

  • take the lead on drought policies and programs in their jurisdictions
  • help design and deliver joint programs under the Future Drought Fund
  • manage animal welfare and natural resource management issues during drought.

All governments will:

  • collaborate on drought-related policies and programs, so they align with the agreement’s principles, improve the quality of support, and avoid unnecessary duplication, adverse impacts or burdens on applicants.
  • build the capacity of farmers and rural communities to manage and withstand drought
  • coordinate and share information on assistance to prepare for, respond to and recover from drought
  • provide access to the Rural Financial Counselling Service
  • support the health and wellbeing of drought-affected farmers and rural communities
  • share information on current conditions and lessons learned from policy and program evaluations

The Australian Government is implementing a drought response framework to support its own awareness, preparedness, planning and response.

The framework regularly considers a range of qualitative and quantitative information to monitor drought conditions and impacts, which then supports proactive and informed government decision-making. This information includes:

  • Data – for example, drawing from the Australian Agricultural Drought Indicators and the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather information and forecasts
  • Feedback – regional and on-ground information through engagement with state and territory governments and numerous on-ground networks

Having improved situational awareness allows us to understand impacts from a range of perspectives, recognise pressure points, and identify other challenges and compounding hardships farmers may be experiencing. 

The drought response framework supports the delivery of our ongoing support programs in dry conditions. It also assists the Australian Government in considering additional support needs if drought conditions and their effects are prolonged and severe.

Australian Agricultural Drought Indicators

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 Australian Agricultural Drought Indicators.

The indicators combine climate data and agricultural models to measure and forecast drought impacts on Australian agriculture. They 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. This will result in monthly data about the extent, severity and timing of impacts as conditions dry.

The Drought Plan provides a clearer explanation of what we will and won’t do in drought.

The Australian Government:

  • Will provide programs that help farmers prepare for drought and build their self-reliance
  • Will provide a safety net for farmers who are in hardship
  • Will make this assistance always available, so eligible farmers can access it when they need it
  • Will work with state and territory governments to reduce gaps and duplications in assistance to farmers.
     
  • Won’t make drought declarations
  • Won’t provide support that:
    • reduces the incentive to prepare for drought
    • slows recovery from drought
    • spreads the impacts of drought to areas not in drought
    • favours a particular sector or disdvantages another
    • distorts markets or undermines our trade obligations
    • provides little public benefit
    • duplicates what’s already on offer.
       

The Australian Government’s approach to supporting the agricultural sector to manage drought is built around a 3-stage cycle:

Decorative
  • Preparing – before drought, plan for drier times ahead
  • In drought – during drought, action your plans to manage the impacts
  • Recovering – after drought, consider lessons learned

The Drought Plan specifies the key drought-related programs that support farming businesses and communities across this cycle.

These include subsidised farm business planning and coaching, climate information, Farm Management Deposits and other tax concessions, low-cost loans, income support, rural financial counselling, and mental health and wellbeing services.

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.
 

Farmers and their communities look first for advice and help from people and organisations they trust and deal with regularly. We recognise that industry groups, First Nations peoples, financial and professional services sectors, research and Natural Resource Management organisations, charities and the not for profit sector all have a role to play in the drought cycle, alongside government.

We are providing more opportunities for stakeholders to keep abreast of drought policy and program news and to update us on conditions in their areas. We are also engaging with stakeholders to explore what is working well and what can be improved in our drought policies and programs. These opportunities range from the National Drought Forum and National Drought Network to regular reviews of specific programs.

General enquiries

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

Report a biosecurity concern

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip
Page last updated: 04 March 2025

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram