Farm businesses in some parts of NSW have experienced some very challenging weather events throughout 2025 including ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March and the East Coast Severe Weather event in May. When disasters of this scale occur and they are declared a severe weather event, the NSW Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) is the agency that administers funding made available by the state and federal governments. In this episode my guests introduce us to the RAA, its history, and its role in administration and distribution of funds. We also discuss two types of loans made available to provide assistance with natural disasters and also drought preparedness and touch on farm debt mediation.

Useful resources related to this podcast:

·       RAA website - NSW Rural Assistance Authority (RAA)

·       Phone 1800 678 593 (Monday to Friday from 8:30am – 4:30pm)

·       NSW DPIRD Dairy – Emergencies and risk management web page - Emergencies and risk management | Department of Primary Industries

This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address [email protected]

Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include:

NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page

NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter

Transcript here

Produced by Liam Driver

The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.