Future Drought Fund
Public consultation on the Future Drought Fund is closed. Thank you to all those who participated.
We are building drought resilience through a new Future Drought Fund. The fund will support drought resilience measures that benefit all Australians.
The Drought Resilience Funding Plan is a high-level framework to guide funding decisions for the projects and activities.
Funding model
We will fund $100 million each year in projects and activities to enhance the drought resilience of Australian farms and communities. This will begin in July 2020.
The funding plan will inform the design of the programs. The Committee advises the Minister for Drought on whether proposed programs are consistent with the funding plan.
Funded projects will:
- enhance public good by building drought resilience
- help farms and communities be more prepared to respond to the impacts of drought
- lift the productivity and profitability of the agriculture sector
- enhance the health and sustainability of Australia’s farming.
Here’s how you had your say
Consultation on the draft Drought Resilience Fund Plan began on 29 October 2019 and closed on 13 December 2019.
You gave feedback through:
- face-to-face meetings held around Australia
- an online survey
- written submissions
Who engaged
Over 690 people participated in the consultation.
Survey
We received 243 submissions through our online form (surveys and written submissions). More than 24% of respondents were farmers.
Meetings
We held 73 face-to-face discussions in 23 locations around Australia. This included public meetings as well as roundtable meetings with grower groups, universities, industry, local government, state and territory government officials, charities, banks, natural resource management and landcare organisations. At those, over 450 people provided us with valuable feedback. Locations were:
- ACT: Canberra
- NSW: Dubbo, Moree, Orange, Sydney, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga
- NT: Darwin
- QLD: Brisbane, Charters Towers, Roma, Toowoomba
- SA: Adelaide, Whyalla, Loxton
- TAS: Hobart, Launceston
- VIC: Horsham, Traralgon, Melbourne
- WA: Geraldton, Merredin, Perth.
This map shows what type of meetings we held in each state.
What you told us
Through the online surveys and submissions you raised a number of key priorities for the Future Drought Fund.
Next steps
The Consultative Committee will provide advice on the draft funding plan and the design of the programs to the Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management. The funding plan is expected to be tabled in Parliament in February 2020.
Submissions
Submissions are being uploaded in phases. Non-confidential, publically available submissions will continue to be uploaded over the coming weeks.
