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Did you know, the Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) offers a range of free services to help macadamia growers in NSW and Queensland? They can help you to develop an action plan and take the necessary steps to get you out of financial difficulty, negotiate with your lenders, build your financial knowledge, skills and resilience so you can manage potential challenges in the future and identify, and apply for, other government programs and assistance that will support the path back to self-sufficiency, including Farm Household Allowance.

RFCS have shared the below case study about how they recently helped a horticultural grower with bank negotiations:

Recently, a horticultural grower reached out to the RFCS team for assistance, recognising that with current commodity price declines and interest rate hikes, they would be likely to default on their loan for their farm business if conditions continued. 

One of the Rural Financial Counsellors sat down with the client and helped go through their books to assess their current financial situation. Together they compiled a list of current assets and liabilities and developed a cash flow budget listing farm expenses including equipment finance repayments, 30-day trade accounts and council rates, among others. 

With this information, the client was able to go to the bank and be transparent about what they could afford and negotiate a repayment arrangement that was achievable. With this arrangement in place, the client is now on track with their loan repayments and has greater peace of mind about the financial security of their farm business. 

Need help?

If you need assistance with negotiating with your bank or creditors, please don't hesitate to reach out to one of the locally-based counsellors in NSW and Qld. They offer free, impartial and confidential financial counselling to help you navigate these challenging times.

NSW: https://rfcsnr.org.au/

QLD: https://www.rfcssq.org.au/rural/#Financial-Counsellor