QRIDA – Exceptional Disaster Assistance Loans: Primary Producers and Businesses

This program seeks to support primary producers and business owners to recover following the North and Far North Queensland Monsoon Trough, 25 January - 14 February 2019. It provides concessional loans to help eligible entities pay for costs arising out of exceptional damage caused by the eligible disaster.

Loans of up to $1 million are available. The maximum loan amount includes any previously approved Disaster Assistance Loans for the North & Far North Queensland Monsoon Trough.

The maximum loan term is ten years. The first two years for the term of the loan do not require repayments of either principal or interest (repayment free, interest is not capitalised during the repayment free period). Following the initial two years, principal and interest repayments apply. During this period repayments calculated over a longer term than eight years may be granted. Any remaining residual loan balance would then need to be refinanced/repaid at the end of the loan term.

QRIDA may grant an interest only period of up to two years following the initial two-year repayment free period.

The annual interest rate from the third year is 1.37%.

Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be a primary producer or a business owner.
- Immediately before the eligible disaster, they must have been operating a primary production enterprise or business in the defined disaster area.
- Their primary production enterprise or business has sustained exceptional damage as a direct result of the eligible disaster.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete eligibility requirements.

Eligible activities must be used to assist towards the following:
- Repairing or replacing damaged plant or equipment used in their primary production enterprise or business.
- Repairing or replacing buildings used for carrying on their primary production enterprise or business.
- Meeting requirements for carrying on their primary production enterprise or business, including, for example:
a) Buying goods used to operate the business
b) Paying rates, rent or wages
c) Paying creditors
- For a primary production enterprise - meeting requirements for carrying on the enterprise, including, for example:
a) Re-planting, restoring or re-establishing areas affected by the eligible disaster
b) Buying livestock to replace livestock lost as a result of the eligible disaster
c) Sustaining livestock
d) Carrying on essential property operations
- For a business - supplying stock for a period of no more than one month to replace inventory lost as a direct result of the eligible disaster and required to maintain the liquidity of the business.