Exceptional Circumstances Exit Package

The Exceptional Circumstances Exit Package closed to new applications as at close of business on 10 August 2011.

All post-sale applications for the EC Exit Grant, lodged prior to the closure of the program 10 August 2011 are being assessed. Those applicants who are subsequently determined to be eligible will have their full entitlements paid.

Applicants who have sought a preliminary assessment (also known as a pre-assessment) of their potential eligibility but who had not sold and settled their property and made a post-sale application prior to its closure on 10 August 2011 do not meet the eligibility requirements of the program and will not receive any payment under the EC Exit Grant.

The department received 12 applications for compensation under the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) in relation to the closure of the EC Exit Grant Scheme on 10 August 2011. The applications were considered and managed in accordance with Finance Circular 2009/09 – Discretionary Compensation and Waiver of Debt Mechanisms (the Finance Circular) and the Department’s policy on managing CDDA claims. The decision–maker concluded that the department had not been defective in its administration of the closure of the EC Exit Grant program and therefore the applicants did not qualify for compensation. Read the Report on Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) Claim.

The limited funding allocated for the Exceptional Circumstances (EC) Exit Package in the 2011-12 financial year has been fully committed. No further applications for the EC Exit Grant will be accepted.

Applications for the EC Exit Grant submitted prior to close of business on 10 August 2011, (including dispatching by mail) will be processed by Centrelink, and if assessed as eligible, as per the program guidelines, the grant will be paid.

Advice and Retraining Grant vouchers and Relocation Grant vouchers already issued are still valid and may be used by the grant recipient up until 15 June 2012.

Service providers, and grant recipients, whichever applicable, have until 30 June 2012 to submit used vouchers to Centrelink for payment.

The government will continue to provide a range of support for farmers in hardship. For example, the Climate Change Adjustment Program component of the government’s Australia’s Farming Future, offers financial assistance to farmers to obtain advice and training to prepare for a different future due to the impact of climate change.

Transitional Income Support assists farmers, regardless of location or industry, who are in need of short term income support to assist recovery from drought, and to help them manage the impacts of climate change.

The EC Exit Package is designed to assist eligible farm families in severe financial difficulty who choose to leave farming to re-establish themselves outside farming. The program provides three elements of assistance

• an exit grant of up to $150 0000
• an advice and retraining grant of up to $10 000
• a relocation grant of up to $10 000

Exceptional Circumstances Exit Grant

The Exceptional Circumstances Exit Grant was targeted at low–income and low–asset farm owners who had a significant long–term personal and financial attachment to their property and chose to leave farming.

The Exit Grant was a one–off taxable payment of up to $150 000.

Farmers who accepted the Exceptional Circumstances Exit Grant have agreed not to become an owner or operator of a farm within five years of exiting the farming industry.

Exceptional Circumstances Advice and Retraining Grant

Exit grant recipients can also receive up to $10 000 for professional advice and retraining to help them plan for life after farming. More information on the Exceptional Circumstances Advice and Retraining grant can be obtained from Centrelink by phoning 13 23 16.

Exceptional Circumstances Relocation Grant

Exit grant recipients may also access up to $10 000 to help with relocation expenses and to access job seeking services after they have sold the farm. More information on the Exceptional Circumstances Relocation Grant can be obtained from Centrelink by phoning 13 23 16.

Policy Guidelines

The EC Exit Package policy guidelines apply to current grant recipients and grant applicants who submitted their application prior to close of business on 10 August 2011. Exceptional Circumstances Exit Grant Package Guidelines are available on the department’s website.

• EC exit package policy guidelines [as at 1 July 2011 – as at close of business on 10 August 2011, no EC Exit Grant applications are being accepted]

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions about the Exceptional Circumstances Exit Package

For information on drought assistance

• Drought Assistance Hotline: 13 23 16
• For languages other than English: 131 202