General criteria

The following conditions apply to transport subsidies available from NSW DPI through the relevant LHPA.

The decision of the Director-General of NSW DPI regarding eligibility under this Policy is final, including the amount of any subsidy that may be payable.

Submission of claims

Subsidies are only available on drought movements for grazing sheep, cattle, goats, deer, emus, ostriches, alpacas, llamas, camels, free range pigs and horses. Subsidies are not available for piggeries (other than free range), orchards, nurseries, any intensive industries or for the movement of bees by apiarists. Subsidies apply to both breeding and production stock.

The subsidies are not to be used for the movement of stock that are not fit to travel. Stock owners must always comply with the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979.

Stockowners who have agisted stock on their properties are not eligible for subsidy on any stock related (fodder, stock water, agistment, sale or slaughter) movements from their property for a minimum period of 8 weeks after the agisted stock leave the property. The exception is claims for the movement of domestic water.

The stock must be owned by the claimant for a minimum of 6 months before the date of the movement, or the animals are the progeny of such stock.

No subsidies will be paid if the number of stock on the property of origin prior to transport of stock to agistment or on return of stock from agistment is more than 10% greater than the notional carrying capacity for the holding unless the claimant can explain the discrepancy in writing to the satisfaction of NSW DPI.

An alternative to considering the notional carrying capacity is taking the average carrying capacity of the number of livestock indicated on Land and Stock Returns over the previous five years.

Claims are to be made through the local LHPA and must be submitted within three (3) months of the movement taking place. Claims submitted outside this time period may be assessed on a case by case basis if the claimant can demonstrate, in writing, the circumstances. Any reasonable reason will be considered for extending the time period out to nine (9) months, such as illness or invoices not being received for submission of claims on time. For consideration of payment of movements made outside the extended nine (9) month period, the letter must demonstrate extenuating circumstances such as serious extended family illness or legal issues that have prevented claims being made.

Subsidies will not be paid for infrastructure or equipment.

Costs of transportation must be paid prior to lodging a claim for the subsidy. Proof of payment must be provided with the application form. Owner carriers will be assessed on a case by case basis. Distance rates for owner carriers are set out in the table below and are indicative rates based on commercial transport costs, but are calculated not to include the cost of the applicant’s time, labour or margin for profit.

Owner Carrier Transport Rate Schedule

If the ABN is not supplied, the rebate will be reduced by an amount equivalent to the highest tax rate, which is subsequently forwarded to the Australian Taxation Office.

State drought declaration

Applicants are not eligible for transport subsidies on movements that are made after an area is no longer drought declared, except for returning stock from agistment to the property of origin. Stock must be returned from agistment to property of origin within three (3) months of the property coming out of drought to be eligible for transport subsidies.

Claimants eligible and maximum subsidy claimable

A single farming enterprise is:

1. any operation involving the breeding or keeping of livestock or a combination of those operations
2. whether conducted on one or more parcels of land
3. wherever in NSW the parcels may be situated
4. irrespective of the ownership of the parcels
5. whether or not the parcels are contiguous with each other.

Where the operation or operations:

1. are conducted by the same entity, whether a corporation (including a partnership or a trust) or an individual person, or
2. are reliant upon each other for their viability, or
3. result in income which is liable to income tax, or in losses which are claimable for income tax purposes, in the hands of any entity other than the entity conducting the operation which is a related body within the meaning of Section 50 of the Commonwealth Corporations Act 2001.

The following are examples of circumstances in which a subsidy, in respect of fodder or stock, exceeding $20,000 in any one calendar year will not be paid:

1. A family operates two properties as a single farming enterprise, where one property is situated in the Armidale area and its title is registered in the name of the son whilst the other property is situated in the Tamworth area and its title is registered in the name of the parents.
2. A company grows fodder on one property that it owns for the purpose of feeding stock that it keeps on another property.
3. A partnership owns a number of non-contiguous properties.

The maximum total subsidy, in respect of fodder or livestock, including water for livestock, will be $20,000 in any one calendar year in respect of a single entity, whether a corporation (including a partnership or a trust) or an individual person.

In addition, any LHPA ratepayer or person who rents/leases on LHPA rated land may claim up to $5,000 per single farming entity in any calendar year for subsidies for the transport of water for domestic purposes.

The agricultural enterprise conducted on the property has to have provided a significant proportion of the current owner’s gross income before the drought. An exception to this is the payment of subsidies for transport of domestic water, where the claimant must be a LHPA ratepayer or a person who rents/leases a house on land rated by the LHPA.

Eligibility criteria for stock to sale or slaughter transport subsidy

The subsidy is only paid for drought-affected stock. Stock owners must always comply with the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 when considering the movement of stock. The subsidy does not apply to the transport of fat and finished stock. Only stock of fat score 1 to 3 (inclusive) are eligible.

The subsidy is only paid for transport of stock to the nearest practicable saleyard, depot, abattoir or property. If the stock are not sent to the nearest practicable saleyard, depot, abattoir or property, then the subsidy will only be paid on a pro rata (proportional) basis to the nearest regional saleyard. If claimants are not happy with the pro rata they may submit a quote from a stock carrier to move that same number of stock to the nearest regional saleyard for consideration.

The property from which the stock were transported must be owned, or leased, by the owner of the stock, and the stock depastured there for a minimum of three (3) calendar months before the date of movement.

In the case of agisted stock, subsidy will be paid for transport to the nearest practicable saleyard, depot, abattoir or property. The stock must have been depastured on the agistment property for a minimum of eight (8) weeks before a claim can be lodged. All eligibility criteria for stock to sale or slaughter also apply.

The minimum load must be equivalent to 70 dry sheep equivalents (DSE). Loads of less than 70 DSE may be assessed on a case by case basis (e.g. transporting bulls).

Commercial feedlots are not eligible for the stock to sale or slaughter transport subsidy. Stock agisted to commercial feedlots and transported to sale or slaughter will be assessed as per the stock to sale and slaughter eligibility criteria.

The maximum distance for a single journey on which a subsidy will be paid for the transport of stock to sale or slaughter is 1500km.

Download subsidy form