Victorian Primary Producer Bushfire Recovery Grants

Submissions are now being accepted.

PLEASE ENSURE YOU HAVE READ THE PROGRAM GUIDELINES AND FAQ'S ON THE RURAL FINANCE WEBSITE PRIOR TO COMPLETING THIS APPLICATION

The Victorian Primary Producer Bushfire Recovery Grants program provides assistance for primary producers directly impacted by the Victorian Bushfires, which commenced 7 January 2026, to assist with the costs of clean-up and reinstatement of the primary production enterprise.

How the application works:

Tier 1: Initial Application

Funding Available Evidence Required
 Up to $10,000To support your initial claim, you only need to provide evidence of direct damage. Proof of payment is not required at this stage but ensure you retain it for Tier 2 claims or audit requests.

Tier 2: Subsequent Claims

Funding Available Evidence Required
 Up to $65,000To access this funding, you must provide full evidence of payment for all claimed expenses. This includes providing proof of payment for items claimed in your Tier 1 application (up to $10,000), plus any new items.

Please read the Program Guidelines and refer to eligible Local Government Areas on the Rural Finance website at ruralfinance.com.au before completing this form.

Applicants must declare they have met the relevant criteria and will be expected to provide documentation to demonstrate the eligibility criteria have been met. This will include the following documentation: 

A. Proof of Photo ID – Such as valid Drivers Licence, Passport, Heavy Vehicle Licence

B. Proof of Property Location – e.g. copy of latest Council Rates, lease documentation, share-farming contract, or other contract that confirms the place where the Primary Production Enterprise is operating

C. Proof of Income – Latest available Tax Return or Financial Statements for your Primary Production Enterprise.

D. Proof of direct impact from the 2026 Victorian Bushfires – Supporting documents such as photos (jpeg or gif only) and description of direct bushfire impacts.

If you are applying for a grant amount above $10,000 (Tier 2 funding) and already have invoices for claims, please attach evidence of expenditure:

E. Proof of expenditure – Tax Invoices, as well as evidence of payment (e.g. bank transfer(s) and/or bank statement(s) with any relevant official receipt(s) from suppliers or contractors)

For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please contact us on 1800 260 425 during business hours or email admin@ruralfinance.com.au and quote your submission number.

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The Rural Finance online grant application service is powered by SmartyGrants. If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Saving your draft application:
If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off. You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.

Submitting your application:
You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it. Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible. When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register. If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted. Hint: also check the email hasn't landed in your spam or junk email folder.

Attachments and supporting documents:
You will need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device. You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.