A lack of staff due to funding cuts has been blamed for primary producers still waiting for government assistance more than a year since floods impacted their properties.
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Primary producers affected by floods in November 2022 had until June 30, 2023, to apply for Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) Special Disaster Grants, but many are still waiting for government approval.
And with just three months until the May cut-off date to submit claims, they fear they have missed out.
Coonabarabran accountant Andrew Freebairn from Forsyths Chartered Accountants said he had many clients waiting to hear from the government about applications and had been told the RAA was under-resourced and under-staffed.
"The RAA is swamped. I've had discussions with people who used to work there, saying positions were not funded or renewed ... and the ones there can't keep up with the workload," Mr Freebairn said.
"It's looking like there are going to be farmers who will miss out because the RAA is under-resourced and simply unable to cope with the volume of paperwork this program has generated."
Mr Freebairn said he had clients who qualified for $75,000 under the flood assistance guidelines but were still waiting, or had just been approved.
"The disaster funding can only be used a certain way but now we are at the tail end of the cut-off date for submitting claims and many people may have missed out," he said.
"To make use of the grant, they still need applications approved, and once that happens even getting a contractor to do the repairs is a long wait as they are also backed up with a list of jobs."
A NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) spokesperson said since the beginning of 2022, a large proportion of RAA staff had been employed on a fixed-term contract to assist with the delivery of Commonwealth and NSW government funded flood recovery financial assistance programs.
"RAA has a long history of engaging an agile workforce that is designed to scale up and down in times of need," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the RAA was assessing applications received for the Special Disaster Grant for severe weather and flooding that occurred from August/ September 2022, as quickly as possible.
More than 10,450 applications were received, and to date, 96 per cent of the applications received have been processed, with more than $298.3 million distributed to approved applicants.
"RAA anticipates the remaining applicants for the Special Disaster Grant will have an outcome regarding their application by the end of February," the spokesperson said.
Special Disaster Grant claims will be accepted until May 8, 2024. Applicants are encouraged to submit their claims as soon as possible, to avoid processing delays which can occur towards the lead up to a program close date.
