Loans to assist first time farmers or farmers looking to start their own business or implement succession arrangements

Agristarter Loans provide concessional loans to help people start their own farm business or to support farm businesses to plan for and implement succession arrangements, including purchase or development of farm land, assets and associated succession costs.

First farmer loan applicants must be seeking to purchase, establish or develop a farm business in which they hold or will hold the sole or a controlling interest; must not have previously held the sole or a majority interest in a farm business (other than the recently acquired or established business for which the loan is sought); must have at least 3 years of relevant on-farm or equivalent experience; and intend to have the farm business as their principal business pursuit.

Individual applicants must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident; contribute or plan to contribute at least 50% of their labour to the farm business; and earn or plan to earn at least 50% of their income from the farm business.

Farm business applicants must operate as a sole trader, partnership, a trust or a corporation; be registered for tax purposes in Australia with an ABN and be registered for GST; have the capacity to repay the loan; and have at least one member who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Additional criteria: business must be in financial need of a loan, financially viable or have sound prospects of becoming viable within the loan term, undertake all primary production aspects wholly within Australia, have existing commercial debt or demonstrate an agreement to obtain commercial debt within a reasonable time, be an eligible primary production industry (per ANZSIC codes), not be under external administration or bankruptcy, and have a connection to 'constitutional trade and commerce'.

Applicants must provide security for the loan and secure the support of their commercial lender.