Floods and storms

October 2022 floods and storms

Primary producer flood recovery grants final claim date extended

The final claim date for applicants who successfully applied for a Primary Producer Flood Recovery grant for the October 2022 floods and storms has been extended from 13 January 2024 to 31 May 2024.

This date extension applies to successful applicants of the:

  • Primary Producer Flood Recovery Grant
  • Rural Landholder Grant
  • Transport Support Program.

This extension provides primary producers and rural landholders additional time to undertake their recovery activities and finalise their claims for Tier 2 payments.

While an extension has been provided, grant recipients are encouraged to make their re-imbursement claims as soon as possible.

Rural Finance administer these programs on behalf of the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments.

For more information visit the Rural Finance website or contact 1800 260 425.

If you applied to Rural Finance for financial support for the October 2022 to January 2023 floods and storms and have a question about your application, contact Rural Finance at:

23 March 2023 hailstorm support – applications are now closed

Applications closed at 4pm on 14 November for Concessional Loans to support eligible primary producers in the City of Greater Shepparton and Yarra Ranges Council local government areas impacted by the 23 March hailstorm event.

A Hailstorm Primary Producer Concessional Loan of up to $250,000 to restore and replace damaged assets, and meet general expenses incurred while the clean-up is underway was available.

If you applied to Rural Finance for financial support for a Hailstorm Concessional Loan and have a question about your application, contact Rural Finance at:

Technical support

Agriculture Victoria is working with Victorian farmers and industry to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters, including floods and storms. This includes delivering technical information and supporting events to support farm business recovery on topics such as:

  • grazing, cropping and pasture management
  • irrigation and horticulture system rehabilitation
  • soil erosion management
  • land management
  • animal health and nutrition
  • farm mapping and planning
  • water quality
  • weed management.

Farmers seeking assistance or advice are encouraged to phone the Agriculture Recovery team on 0427 694 185 or email recovery@agriculture.vic.gov.au

For more information visit the Victorian government's flood recovery page.

Events and field days

For information about upcoming recovery events and field days, visit our Events page.

As of 2 November, Agriculture Victoria has been involved in and supported the delivery of 351 recovery activities, engaging 3,301 farmers.

These activities provide support and information to farmers recovering from floods and storms in a range of areas including grazing, cropping and pasture management, irrigation and horticulture system rehabilitation, land management, animal health and nutrition, climate and seasonal outlook and pest and weed management.

Farmers and service providers are encouraged to subscribe to the agriculture recovery newsletter where events and support information is published.

National Centre for Farmer Health: flood response support

The National Centre for Farmer Health is committed to supporting primary producers whose properties, livestock or crops were damaged or lost in the floods and storms through the delivery of initiatives to boost farmer mental health and wellbeing, including:

  • free access to online psychology support delivered by farmer health trained psychologists
  • distribution of mental health resource and support information.

More information is available on the National Centre for Farmer Health website.