Extraordinary Disaster Assistance Recovery Grants are available to assist directly impacted primary producers with the costs of clean-up and reinstatement.

Grants of up to $75,000 are available for affected producers following Tropical Cyclone Jasper, associated rainfall and flooding, 13 - 28 December 2023, to hire or purchase equipment and materials, clean up, remove debris, replace fencing and other costs associated with the recovery process. Producers should take photographs of the direct damage to accompany their application/s.

Applicants need to show they are an eligible primary producer, within the declared disaster area and demonstrate they have suffered direct impact from the disaster. Read below and the guidelines for more information.

The maximum grant amount is $75,000 and can be accessed through the following:

• Initial application/s up to the total amount of $10,000 is available to support an initial claim. Evidence of the direct damage is required such as photographs and quotations, tax invoices or official receipts.
• Subsequent application/s up to the total amount of $65,000 is available to support subsequent claims for which full evidence of payment is required.

Complete applications are assessed in order of receipt and QRIDA may request further information to help assess an application.

Eligible clean-up, reinstatement activities and emergency measures include:

• Equipment and materials to undertake clean-up
• Additional labour costs (above and beyond normal wage expenditure i.e. day-to-day staffing)
• Disposing of damaged goods and injured or dead livestock, including associated costs
• Repairs to buildings (other than housing)
• Fencing not covered by any other assistance
• Reconditioning/ repairing essential plant and equipment
• Salvaging crops, grain and feeds
• Purchase or hire/ lease costs for equipment essential to the immediate resumption of the business
• Payment for tradespeople to conduct safety inspections
• Essential repairs to premises and internal fittings that is not covered by insurance.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an exceptional circumstances grant, the applicant must:

• be a primary producer;
• hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at the time of the eligible disaster;
• have a primary production enterprise that is located in the defined area for the eligible disaster that has suffered direct damage as a result of the eligible disaster;
• have been engaged in carrying on the primary production enterprise when affected by the eligible disaster;
• be primarily responsible for meeting the costs claimed in the application;
• for costs relating to 3.1 h) (v), (vi) and (vii) in the guidelines, provide satisfactory evidence of the loss of damage; and
• intend to re-establish the primary production enterprise in the defined disaster area for the eligible disaster.

An applicant may also be eligible for an exceptional circumstances grant if both of the following apply:

• The applicant’s primary production enterprise is located outside the defined disaster area for the eligible disaster but is carried on at least sometime on a regular basis in the area.
• Plant or equipment of the primary production enterprise situated in the defined disaster area has been damaged as a result of the eligible disaster.

Applicants who operate more than one primary production enterprise, for example under a single ABN at separate locations, may apply for assistance for each eligible separate business up to the maximum amount of assistance available for the relevant defined disaster area and determined by the establishment notice.

Defined disaster area

The Minister for Fire and Emergency Services has activated disaster assistance for Tropical Cyclone Jasper, associated rainfall and flooding, 13 - 28 December 2023.

To be eligible for assistance your property must be located in one of the defined disaster areas:

• Cairns Regional Council
• Cassowary Coast Regional Council
• Cook Shire Council
• Douglas Shire Council
• Hinchinbrook Shire Council
• Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council
• Mareeba Shire Council
• Tablelands Regional Council
• Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council
• Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council

• Phone: 1800 623 946
• Email: contact_us@qrida.qld.gov.au
• Website: https://www.qrida.qld.gov.au/contact-us