Farmers and primary producers

Fencing

Eligible property owners may get support to repair fencing if:

• firefighting or disaster response teams brought about the damage, or
• the fence is on the boundary of National Parks, State Parks or State Forests.

To find out if your damage is eligible for support, you can contact the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action on 136 186.

Land surveys

There are land surveyors who will provide professional advice on surveys and perform title boundary surveys at a discounted rate, only covering costs or less.

Contact the Surveyor-General Victoria on 03 9194 0282 or email surveyor.general@transport.vic.gov.au.

Counselling

The Rural Financial Counselling Service

The Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) is accessible for bushfire affected primary producers, and offers free, confidential wellbeing support alongside financial and business counselling support.

RFCS wellbeing counsellors can visit bushfire-affected producers at their property or talk over the phone to assist with mental health and wellbeing issues for individuals and their families.

The RFCS is also available to assist primary producers with understanding and applying for recovery support.

To access the support of a wellbeing counsellor, call the Rural Financial Counselling Service on 1300 771 741.

The Look Over the Farm Gate program

The Look Over the Farm Gate (LOTFG) program is delivered by the National Centre for Farmer Health and is available to farming communities experiencing stress.

The LOTFG has been brought forward to meet the immediate needs of bushfire affected communities and provides grants of up to $5,000 for events and activities to support mental health and wellbeing.

Information is available on the National Centre for Farmer Health website.

Rural Aid Australia

Rural Aid Australia offers financial assistance and free counselling for affected farmers. More information is available on the Rural Aid Australia website.