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Drought Communities Programme

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About the programme

The Drought Communities Programme (DCP) supports communities in the most drought-affected regions of Australia.

Drought Communities Programme Extension

On 19 August 2018, the Australian Government announced it would extend the DCP. $301 million has been provided over four years from 2018-19 to support local infrastructure projects and other drought-relief activities in 180 eligible Local Government Areas. The list of Eligible Councils is available here PDF: 494 KB ReadSpeaker.

Project funding is intended to provide short-term support for local economies, including by boosting local employment and procurement, and address social and community needs.

The last funding announcement was in January 2020. No further rounds are planned under the program.

The DCP Extension is administered through the Business Grants Hub at the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Information about the DCP Extension, including the Program Guidelines and application process, is available at business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/drought-communities-programme-extension or call 13 28 46.

Review into the Drought Communities Programme Extension

An independent review into the methodology, delivery and objectives of the DCP Extension was conducted by Ernst & Young Australia in late 2019. A copy of the report is available here PDF: 3318 KB ReadSpeaker.

Ernst & Young Australia developed an interim methodology to inform the allocation of a $50 million DCP Extension fund, announced by the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, on 7 November 2019. A copy of the interim methodology report is available here PDF: 1086 KB ReadSpeaker. The simplified model outlined in the report was used to inform the DCP Extension announcement in January 2020. This took into account a range of factors, including stricter 24-month consecutive rainfall deficiency data, economic exposure to drought in both agriculture and related downstream manufacturing, and population size with funding tiered at up to $500,000 for councils of less than 1,000 people and up to $1 million for councils with larger populations.

Drought Community Support Initiative - Round 2

The Australian Government has provided $148.5 million for Round 2 of the Drought Community Support Initiative (DCSI) to deliver financial assistance to farming households affected by drought.

The funding provides up to $3,000 in short-term financial assistance to eligible farmers, farm workers and suppliers/contractors facing hardship due to drought.

Applications for assistance in LGAs supported by The Salvation Army have now closed, as funding has been exhausted in these areas. The Salvation Army has assisted over 25,000 farming families to meet urgent expenses, including for food, petrol and utilities. The injection of money into rural and regional communities has supported local businesses, who are also struggling financially from the impact of the drought and COVID-19.

The DCSI continues to be available through the St Vincent de Paul Society in 91 LGAs eligible for the DCP Extension until 30 April 2021, or until program funding is exhausted. Only one DCSI (Round 2) payment is allowed per household.

The Round 2 Program Guidelines are available at business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/drought-communities-programme-drought-community-support-initiative.

The Australian Government committed $33 million in support to drought-affected families through Round 1 of the DCSI. Round 1 operated between 17 December 2018 to 30 June 2019.

Drought Communities Programme 2015 (now closed)

The original DCP delivered benefits in targeted drought affected regions of Australia. The Australian Government provided funding of $35 million over four years, commencing in 2015–16, to fund local infrastructure projects that provided employment for people whose work opportunities were impacted by drought. The program has closed.

Funding was targeted at projects that stimulated local community spending, used local resources, businesses and suppliers, and/or provided a long-lasting benefit to communities and the agricultural industries on which they depend.

Funding was directed to 23 declared local government areas, which were eligible for up to $1.5 million funding.