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Frequently asked questions

Visit the Digital Identity website here to learn how your information is kept secured.

To access our online services on behalf of a business or entity, you need to link your Digital ID to the business using the Relationship Authorisation Manager.

If the business entity used for your QRIDA account does not appear in the Relationship Authorisation Manager screen, click here to learn how to add it to your Digital ID.

If you have applied for funding and want to view your application status or want to apply for funding, you will be required to login to ApplyOnline. 

If you are a business with a Digital ID and want to view the details of your loan and/or grants, you are required login to MyAccount. You cannot view loan details via ApplyOnline.

Yes, replacing lost or damaged crops, and costs associated with the essential replacement of lost or damaged crops, may be eligible for reimbursement for disaster assistance recovery grants activated from 29 January 2025, including:

• North and Far North Tropical Low, 29 January - 28 February 2025

• Tropical Cyclone Alfred and Severe Weather, 1 - 16 March 2025

• Western Queensland Surface Trough and Associated Rainfall and Flooding, commencing 21 March - 19 May 2025

Costs such as those for the plant, seed or seedling, crop establishment (i.e. chemicals for weed and or pest control), nutrition (i.e. establishment fertiliser) will be considered.

Please note, however, that pasture crops grown for livestock consumption, and ratoon cane where pasture/crop was planted more than 12 months ago and preceding the relevant disaster are excluded from the eligibility.

Please contact QRIDA regarding any mistakes on loan documentation sent via DocuSign and QRIDA will rectify and re-issue the documents to you.  

You will be able to opt out of electronic signing anytime during the process from application up to when loan documents are issued electronically by QRIDA. If you have not indicated to opt out of electronic signing on your initial application form, please contact QRIDA to arrange for your documents to be sent to you by email or post. 

DocuSign can be used on a variety of devices, including mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, and Android phones, as well as desktop and laptop computers running Windows or macOS.

QRIDA is committed to ensuring due administrative processes are undertaken with the decisioning of applications for Government assistance.

When making decisions on applications, as well as the internal review of a decision, QRIDA follows the QRIDA Decision-Making Policy and Procedure.

You can view this Policy and Procedure on the Reviewing a decision page.

After your initial application is approved, your subsequent applications will require only a copy of your bill(s) and proof of payment. However, if your circumstances have changed since your initial application you will need to advise QRIDA when competing your subsequent application, or by contacting QRIDA. 

The definition of primary production enterprise has been expanded under the joint Commonwealth-Queensland Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Primary production enterprise now includes businesses that support primary production, thus the income from those services that support primary production such as harvesting and mustering services. 

Other examples include classifications under Australian New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) Division A, Subdivision 05 Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Support Services such as: shearing business, mustering business, silage baling business, farm irrigation services, timber plantation maintenance services.

Income from these types of support services will now be considered primary production income for the purposes of determining eligibility as a primary producer under DRFA schemes. See separate FAQ for the definition of a primary producer under DRFA guidelines.

This change has been applied retrospectively to Queensland's 2025 disaster events and going forward for any future disaster events.

Your business is considered owner-operated if:

• at least one owner (which can be you or another owner) provides labour for the business; and
• your business is not wholly or partly operated or owned by a public company, a managed investment scheme, a foreign company or a superannuation entity other than a self-managed superannuation fund.
   

To be eligible you will need to declare that at least one owner of your business provides labour to operate the business. Labour to operate the irrigation business may include on-farm manual labour (e.g. growing and harvesting crops) and non-manual labour (e.g. bookkeeping, business planning).

QRIDA may request more information about the type of labour provided to determine your eligibility.

To be eligible, you will need to declare that your business is not operated or owned by an excluded entity (i.e. a public company, foreign company, a managed investment scheme or a superannuation entity other than self-managed superannuation fund).

QRIDA may request more information about your business structure to determine your eligibility.

The rebate amount will be 15% off the amount of your bill which you have paid in relation to your water allocations and usage for a period in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years.

You will be required to provide at least two types of evidence to show your business irrigates. This evidence can include:

• management accounts showing income received from, or sale dockets from, sale of irrigated crops
• invoices for purchase of goods or materials required to irrigate crops such as seeds, fertiliser, irrigation infrastructure, and equipment
• Commonwealth Government Horticulture/Field Crops Levy statement obtainable from Levies Online
• current farm plan/map, or aerial, satellite or drone photography outlining the irrigated crops area
• current photographic evidence (e.g. with mobile phone) of irrigated crops area
• the Department of Primary Industry’s (DPI) Farm Business Resilience Plan (FBRP) that mentions the need to irrigate
• a business plan or other documents demonstrating your intent to start growing irrigated crops for commercial purposes.

To demonstrate that at least one owner or beneficiary of your business, or your business, declares primary production income for tax purposes, your evidence can be:

• income tax returns; or
• a letter from a qualified accountant.

Alternatively, you can make a statutory declaration. 

Instead of documents to demonstrate your business irrigates and that you declare primary production income, you can also make a statutory declaration, stating that:

• your business irrigates from time-to-time; and
• at least one owner or beneficiary of your business, or your business, declares primary production income for income tax purposes from the business.

A statutory declaration template is available on the Scheme website. For more information about statutory declarations, please visit the Queensland Government – Statutory Declaration website.

QRIDA may request revisions to your statutory declaration if it does not meet the requirements under the Scheme. You are encouraged to use the template provided on the Scheme website.

Please note that you can sign your declaration in front of the witness in person or online. For more information, please visit this website. Additionally, please visit this website to see the list of Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Declarations who can witness your statutory declaration online.

Yes, you are eligible as your irrigation activities contribute toward primary production income (e.g. sale of cattle), providing your application satisfies all other eligibility requirements.

Providing consent for your business name and customer reference number to be shared will allow Sunwater or Seqwater to continue to charge eligible customers the subsidised irrigation prices set by the Queensland Government from 2027 onwards.

No, you do not need to apply for the rebate. These entities can apply for the rebate and pass the rebate on to you.

Yes, you may be eligible for assistance under the Scheme if you pay for water allocation(s) that is not owned by your business. As a part of your application, you will need to provide the name of the entity that holds the water allocation(s), and declare your relationship to that entity (which can be family or other types, including leasing arrangements).

QRIDA may request more information about the arrangement to determine your eligibility.

The Disaster Assistance Loan (DAL) offers up to $250,000 for small businesses and $100,000 for non-profits that have experienced direct physical damage as a result of a disaster, covering repairs costs and essential operating expenses they are unable to meet.

The Essential Working Capital (EWC) Loan offers up to $100,000 for businesses and non-profits that did not suffer direct damage but are experiencing a severe negative impact on their normal cash flow – such as significant loss of income – rendering them unable to meet their essential operating expenses.

Only the portion of the amount paid in relation to the supply of water for a period in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years is eligible for the rebate. Charges for usage before 1 July 2025 or after 30 June 2027 are not eligible, even if they are paid for during the rebate period.

If you have already applied for assistance from QRIDA please provide your QRIDA Client ID Number on your application form, as well as the documents outlined below. Please remember not to mail original documents as QRIDA is unable to return them.

Financial statements and tax returns

• Financial statements including Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet

The latest available Income Tax Return/s will be satisfactory, this is downloadable from your ATO portal.

Rates Notice / Lease Agreement

To show that your enterprise is located within a defined disaster area, please provide: 

• If you own the property - a copy of your most recent Local Government rates notice for the property impacted by the disaster event.
• If you lease the property - a copy of your current lease agreement (lease agreement must confirm that you are responsible for meeting the costs being claimed).

Photographs of damage

• 5 - 10 photographs evidencing direct damage caused by the disaster event.

Evidence of payment

For grant applications up to $10,000 (i.e. for immediate resumption of business directly following the disaster event):

• Copies of tax invoices, quotes,or estimates
  OR

For grant applications over $10,000 or subsequent applications up to $65,000:

• Copies of tax invoices AND evidence that these invoices have been paid (e.g. bank statements, electronic bank transfer confirmations or official supplier receipts).

Details of insurance

If insured, you will need to provide full details and a copy of your insurance policy and/or claim. 

If you are eligible to claim under your insurance policy, you must do so, and have that claim finalised before lodging an application for grant assistance. Please be aware QRIDA is unable to finalise your Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant application until the outcome of your insurance claim is determined and formal advice of the claim outcome is provided. 

A Disaster Assistance Loan of up to $2,000,000 is available to assist primary production businesses who have experienced direct damage as a result of the Queensland Monsoon Trough, Cyclone Koji, Cyclone Narelle and Severe Weather, commencing 24 December 2025. This loan can be utilised to fund repair and reinstatement costs for your business, and to meet normal operating expenses that the business is unable to meet due to the impact of the disaster event (e.g. lease payments, property rates, creditors).

An Essential Working Capital (EWC) Loan of up to $100,000 is available to assist primary production businesses who have not experienced direct damage as a result of the disaster event but have experienced a negative impact on their normal business cashflow and are consequently unable to meet normal operating expenses (e.g. lease payments, property rates, wages, creditors). For example, a primary production business may be eligible for an EWC Loan if their farms were not physically impacted by the disaster event however the business suffered a significant loss of income throughout the disaster period. The business may not be able to meet normal operating expenses within its existing credit limits. These requirements over and above your existing credit limits can be met by the EWC loan.