RFCS NSW 2024-25 Annual Report

RFCS NSW has released its 2025 Annual Report. This highlights RFCS NSW’s service provision across 63 local government areas in NSW and the ACT over the 2024-25 financial year. Over the period the agency delivered the Rural Financial Counselling program across the central and southern regions on behalf of the Australian and NSW Governments and the Personal Financial Counselling program in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven areas on behalf of the NSW Government. A total of 1,206 clients received service from these programs.  

Debt can be a financial burden that feels overwhelming, especially for farmers facing unpredictable challenges such as weather events, market fluctuations, or unforeseen costs. Whether it’s a tough season, unexpected repairs, or fluctuating commodity prices, debt can quickly become a significant issue. Reducing debt is a crucial strategy for those experiencing financial hardship and difficulty managing borrowings. This begins with reworking expenses, refinancing for better interest rates, or exploring alternative sources of income like off-farm work or better product price offerings.

It’s important to note that not all debt is bad. Debt that generates a positive return on investment such as increased sales or improved productivity can be a strategic tool for growth. On the other hand, poorly managed debt can become a heavy burden. Understanding your debt's role in your business’s financial health is essential, and this is something a financial counsellor can help you assess.

The key to managing debt effectively is to address it early. It’s important not to wait until the situation escalates beyond control. Speaking to a Rural Financial Counsellor as soon as you notice difficulties with repayments or financial stress is essential.

The Rural Financial Counselling Service NSW provides confidential, independent, and free financial counselling. Our services are designed to support farmers through periods of financial distress and to develop strategies to regain financial control.

Here’s how RFCS NSW can assist you:

1. Understand Your Financial Situation

This includes analysing your debts, income, expenses, and overall cash flow. This clarity is essential to know where you stand financially and how you can move forward.

2. Develop a Business Plan

This may include identifying options to reduce your debts, such as consolidating loans or refinancing.

3. Exploring Refinancing Options

Negotiating with your lender to possibly lower your interest rates, extend your repayment period, or restructure your loans to make them more manageable.

- RIC (Regional Investment Corporation) offers concessional interest rates for eligible agricultural businesses, refinancing with RIC could be an option to explore.

4. Negotiating with Creditors

Setting up manageable repayment plans that allow you to meet your obligations. It’s important to communicate early with your creditors, as many are willing to work with farmers in financial hardship, especially if you reach out before things escalate.

6. Revised Cash Flow and Budgeting

Understanding how money flows in and out of your business is critical. A detailed cash flow plan will allow you to make informed decisions about managing your finances and avoiding debt-related issues in the future.

7. Seek support early

It’s important to act quickly and seek support as early as possible to prevent your situation from becoming too stressful. By reaching out to an RFC early, you can make informed decisions and choose the best path for your financial future, whether that’s through the Farm Debt Mediation (FDM) process or other solutions.

Best Practices for Managing Debt:

• Focus on high-interest debt first: Generally, when paying down debt it is best to prioritise the debt with the highest interest rate. This will reduce the total interest you pay over time.
• Consider refinancing: If you are facing high interest rates, refinancing can be a good option to reduce your monthly payments or lower your overall debt.
• Create a realistic budget: Revising your budget regularly ensures you can track cash flow and make necessary adjustments to stay on top of your financial commitments.

If you’re getting behind on repayments or are struggling to make ends meet, it is  important to speak to a Rural Financial Counsellor as soon as possible. The earlier you reach out, the more options we can explore to help you manage your debt without it escalating further. We’re here to support you in getting through tough times and working toward long-term financial stability.

To speak to your local Rural Financial Counsellor and access the services of RFCS NSW call 1800 319 458.

The below article is written by CEO of RFCS NSW, Craig Hough.

On 25 March 2025 the federal Treasurer delivered the Federal Budget.

This is presented in the context of increased global uncertainty and volatility – tariffs and trade disputes and wars in the middle east and Europe; cyclone and floods in Queensland and NSW, drought in parts of the southern states in particular South Australia; a sluggish Chinese economy and continued high cost of living. With inflation now back in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA’s) target band of 2-3% there are fresh hopes for further interest rate cuts while unemployment continues around the 4 per cent mark and the economy grows moderately between 1½ to 2½ per cent over the next few years.

Like the 2024 Budget the government continues to prioritise non-inflationary cost of living relief particularly for lower income and disadvantaged people, capability building and economic growth. This has resulted in an overall Budget deficit of 1.5 per cent of GDP ($42.1 billion) forecast for 2025–26. While this is expected to reduce over the forward estimates to 1.1 per cent of GDP ($36.9 billion) in 2028-29, net debt (the sum of interest-bearing liabilities less the sum of selected financial assets) is forecast to grow from 19.9 per cent of GDP ($556 billion) in 2025-26 to 23.1 per cent of GDP ($$768.2 billion) in 2028-29.

The big initiatives driving the government’s agenda are:

1. Building Australia’s Future program – increasing manufacturing capacity and capability ($1.13 billion over four years)
2. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) – lowering the general patient co‑payment from $31.60 to $25.00 on 1 January 2026 ($784.6 million over four years), improving access to medicines ($539.4 million over five years) and providing new or amended listings ($1.8 billion over five years).
3. Medicare – incentivizing bulk billing and modernizing systems ($10 billion over five years)
4. Infrastructure – Various projects across the country e.g. Bruce Hwy upgrade ($17.1 billion over ten years)
5. National Broadband Network – Upgrading the remaining 622,000 premises on the Fibre to the Node (FTTN) network ($3 billion over seven years)
6. Indigenous affairs - National Partnership on Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment ($842.6 million for six years) and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap ($506.4 million over five years).

Other initiatives listed in the Budget likely to have more of an impact for RFCS NSW’s clients are:

Tax cuts for low-income earners

Currently people earning between $18,201 – $45,000 per annum pay 16c for each $1 over $18,200 in income tax. From 1 July 2026, the 16 per cent rate will be reduced to 15 per cent and from 1 July 2027, the 15 per cent rate will be reduced further to 14 per cent.

Energy bill relief

$1.8 billion has been provided over two years from 2025–26 to continue energy bill rebates of $75 per quarter for eligible Australian households and small businesses until 31 December 2025.

National Anti-Scam Centre

$6.7 million will be provided in 2025–26 to extend the operation of the National Anti‑Scam Centre within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The purpose of this initiative is to continue protecting consumers and businesses from scam activity.

Tax compliance

$999 million has been provided over four years to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to extend and expand their tax compliance activities. It is likely that this will increase demand for financial counselling services.

Trade development

$23.8 million has been provided over three years from 2025–26 to sponsor agricultural trade events.

$6.8 million has been provided in 2025–26 for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to sustain non‑regulatory agricultural export and trade functions, including international engagement in multilateral forums and technical market access services.

These initiatives increase capacity for agriculture exporters to showcase their products and services to international markets.

Biosecurity

$11 million has been provided in 2025–26 to continue efforts to reduce the economic and environmental burden of established feral animals, pests and weeds. This builds on much larger investments in previous Budgets and advances implementation of the national biosecurity strategy.

National Food Strategy

$3.5 million has been provided over two years from 2025–26 to develop a National Food Security Strategy. It is expected that RFCS NSW will provide input to the strategy on behalf of its clients.

Continuing Implementation of the Murray‑Darling Basin Plan

The government will provide funding over three years from 2025–26 to continue implementation of the Murray‑Darling Basin Plan through additional voluntary water purchases that will contribute towards better environmental outcomes under the Basin Plan. The financial implications of this measure are not for publication because they would impair the Commonwealth’s position in negotiating contracts.

Bushfire resilience

$17.7 million has been provided in 2025–26 for the Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Program to support bushfire resilience activities in rural and regional Australia. There may be an opportunity for RFCS NSW to assist with the roll out of this program given the relationship between the programs.

Understanding the Food and Grocery Code

$2.9 million has been provided over three years from 2025–26 to assist fresh produce suppliers to understand and enforce their rights under the Food and Grocery Code to achieve more favorable commercial outcomes when negotiating with large grocery businesses. RFCS NSW will complement this initiative by going through and considering code provisions with relevant clients in casework.

Rural Financial Counsellors Mariné Morton and Linda McLean from the Rural Financial Counselling Service NSW (RFCS NSW) attended the 2025 ABARES Outlook Conference. A summary of key highlights relevant to RFCS NSW clients and stakeholders is provided below.  

Over 300 people attended the ABARES conference with representation from government, service providers and industry bodies and stakeholders. It offered an opportunity to explore the predicted outlook for agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. 

Day 1 began with a look at the future of agriculture.  

While overall growth is expected to slow compared to recent years, the outlook remains positive, with production expected to stay above average. For example the 2024-25 national winter crop is forecast to be the third-largest on record, at 59.8 million tonnes with average broadacre farm business profits forecast to rise to $110k by 2025-26.Key drivers include strong EU demand for canola exports, and non-GM canola price increases over the five-year average. 

 Feed prices, which were elevated last year, are expected to return to normal this year. Trends in plant-based protein consumption are influenced by price, with a noticeable shift away from lamb and mutton. However, it’s difficult to determine if this is due to displacement by traditional products. The Australian sheep flock continues to decline, with a shift away from Merinos towards sheep meat breeds, marking a trend away from specialized sheep farmers. 

 US tariffs are expected to increase commodity prices fuelling inflation. Diversifying markets will help mitigate the impact of tariffs. For example, the production of legumes, especially chickpeas, increased significantly last year, as India removed tariffs for a period. 

Day 2 focused on pathways to attract capital.  

 Private lending is becoming a more viable option for investment in agriculture. Currently, only 9% of business lending in Australia comes from private credit, compared to 91% in the US and 65% in Europe. While this option is more expensive, it is expected to become more affordable as demand increases.  

A tight labour market and difficulty attracting skilled workers in rural areas requires the sector to develop sustainable workforce strategies. These need to cover the education system as only 40 domestic students started an agriculture PhD in 2022, housing, and the use of Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and working holiday makers. 

 Securing affordable inputs like fuel, fertiliser, and chemicals are critical for attracting investment in the sector and maintaining or increasing food security. The ecosystem for Australian agricultural food security involves many stakeholders creating a deeply connected network where advancements in one area can have cascading effects on others, impacting national resilience, military capabilities, and economic prosperity (ASPI, National Food Security Preparedness Green Paper, March 2025). Food security is a cornerstone of national security, and without reliable, resilient food systems, Australia's economy and sovereignty would be at compromised.  

Many peak agricultural groups and policy think tanks are working on steps to prepare for these future challenges.