Farmers can again have up to half the cost of connectivity and farm monitoring equipment covered by the Commonwealth, after Round 3 of the On Farm Connectivity Program opened with $10 million in rebates. Applications opened on 15 September and close at 5pm AEDT on 15 October, unless the money runs out first.
The farmer does not apply. Only a supplier on the department's approved list can submit an application, and it is the supplier that lodges the rebate claim. The farmer's part is a declaration, made through the program portal, confirming the business is eligible.
The rebate covers up to 50 per cent of the price of eligible equipment, on purchases between $2,000 and $40,000 excluding GST, so individual rebates run from $1,000 to $20,000. The $20,000 cap applies per farm ABN across every application and every supplier. Training can be included up to 10 per cent of the equipment price, up to 12 months of subscriptions up to another 10 per cent, and delivery and installation up to 20 per cent.
Eligible equipment falls into five categories: LPWAN, connectivity equipment, environmental monitoring, farm management, and remote automation and control. LPWAN stands for low-power wide-area network, the long-range, low-data radio links that carry readings from soil probes, tank level sensors and similar devices back across a property.
Prices are set by the sellers. Under the guidelines, equipment is costed "according to the price list provided at the time the supplier has been approved". Suppliers joined the list through an expression of interest, and the department has published the Round 3 list with each supplier's equipment and prices.
“Smart and connected technologies can deliver real advantages for primary producers, boosting productivity and enabling new, more efficient ways of doing things," Communications Minister Anika Wells said in a release on Wednesday.”
The $10 million is not new money this week. The guidelines tie it to the Better Connectivity Plan in the 2026-27 Budget. The program began as a Labor election commitment, and $30 million was allocated in the October 2022 Budget, $15 million each for the first two rounds, with a further $3 million later added to Round 2. The department's program page now puts the total at up to $43 million across three rounds.
The department reports the first two rounds by money paid and businesses reached: more than $30.5 million in rebates to more than 2,900 primary production businesses. Wells' release rounds that to almost 3,000 producers. On whether the equipment raised output or connected anything that was not connected before, the guidelines commit only that the department "may evaluate" the program.
To qualify, a farm business needs an ABN registered for at least 12 months, an eligible industry code, and average annual gross income between $40,000 and $4 million across 2022-23 to 2024-25. Hobby farmers are excluded, as is any farm already funded by another Commonwealth, state or territory program for the same purpose. The department says it may share farm business names and ABNs with state and territory governments for data matching, including to detect duplicate funding.
Assessment is first come, first served. Farms that received nothing in earlier rounds are assessed first, in the order applications arrive, then everyone else, and the guidelines warn the round may be oversubscribed and that assessment may stop when the money is committed.
Once approved, a supplier has 120 days to supply, install and claim. The last day for claims is 28 May 2027, a date the guidelines say cannot be extended.
