Self service tool now available for Drought Concessional Loans

Under the Drought Concessional Loan Scheme, all applicants are required to submit a valid Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Rainfall Deficiency Report.

A self service tool (Australian Rainfall Deficiency Analyser) is now available to assist potential applicants consider their eligibility and generate a report without delay.

The self service tool will speed up the application process, as producers no longer have to submit a report request and wait up to five days to receive a BOM Rainfall Deficiency Report.

The Australian Rainfall Deficiency Analyser is accessible via the QRAA website (Drought Concessional Loan Scheme page). Potential applicants can locate their farm business on the National Summary Map using latitude and longitude coordinates or by clicking on the map to zoom in on the location of their property.

Once the location of the farm business has been correctly located, applicants will have the option of downloading a Rainfall Deficiency Report.

The Rainfall Deficiency Report identifies those areas that have experienced one of the following two rainfall deficiencies, which extend 12 months or more (the 12 month period needs to be continuous, in whole months and wholly within the last two years):

• a rainfall deficiency, which is equivalent to, or worse than, a 1 in 20 year rainfall event (a rainfall deficiency at or below the 5th percentile).
• a rainfall deficiency, which is equivalent to, or worse than, a 1 in 10 rainfall event (a rainfall deficiency at or below the 10th percentile).

The Rainfall Deficiency Report will be valid for a period of 60 days and must form part of the Drought Concessional Loan application. A new report will need to be obtained if the application isn’t lodged within the 60 day period specified on the Report.

The Australian Rainfall Deficiency Analyser is updated on the 23rd of each month (or next business day).

If a farm business is not located in either of the above rainfall deficient areas, they are not eligible for assistance under the Drought Concessional Loans Scheme.

When assessing applications, QRAA will verify information provided by applicants

For further information visit www.qraa.qld.gov.au or contact on Freecall 1800 623 946.