FARMREADY APPROVED TRAINING

FarmReady is part of Australia’s Farming Future, the Australian Government’s flagship four-year initiative to improve productivity and help farmers manage climate change. FarmReady aims to boost training opportunities for primary producers, and enable industry, farming groups and natural resource management groups develop strategies to adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.

Eligible participants are able to claim up to $1500 per financial year to attend FarmReady approved courses. Approved courses will focus on areas designed to equip primary producers with the tools to manage and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Approved Courses

Who is eligible?

Eligible individual participants include primary producers and Indigenous land managers. For the purposes of the program:

Primary producers: are defined as those who are:

• owner/operators of a primary production enterprise (farming, fishing and forestry), as determined by the Australian Taxation Office ; or 
• management positions of a primary production enterprise (farming, fishing and forestry), as determined by the Australian Taxation Office1; or
• the immediate family of the owner/operator of a primary production enterprise (farming, fishing and forestry), as determined by the Australian Taxation Office1.

Indigenous land managers are defined as those involved in the management decisions for Indigenous lands that are zoned for rural purposes, or outside existing control plan areas, if the land is owned, managed, controlled or operated by:

• an Indigenous community, corporation or trust; or
• an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander.
• Reimbursement grants are not available to employees of Commonwealth, State and local government departments and agencies involved in primary production, fishing and forestry.

Before you attend a FarmReady approved course, complete and lodge an application form.

NB: This 'Pre-Approval' must be granted prior to the commencement of the course in order to receive a FarmReady Reimbursement Grant. The applicant is solely responsible for any outlays made before receiving Pre-Approval.

Making a claim after course completion
Payments will be made subject to the submission of the following within 30 days of the course finish date.

Claims for reimbursement made after this date will not be funded.

• Evidence of participant payment: Copy of itemised Tax invoices and receipts for each cost to be claimed:
  • detailing evidence of course payment, course attendance and completion, courses name, location, training date(s) and time, participant contact details
  • for child care provided, including the name of the carer, number of children, date and hours, rate and total cost
  • for travel, accommodation and meal claims,
• Participants should keep a copy of all receipts for their own records
• Evidence of course completion (eg. Certificate of Attainment)
• Fully completed Claim for Reimbursement and Course Review Form.

INFORMATION FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM

• Completed forms must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the course finish date to be eligible for the payment of a reimbursement payment.
• A new form is required to be completed for every FarmReady course attended. For example, if you have attended several modules, for which each module is a separate FarmReady Approved Course, you must complete a form for each separate module/ course attended. Multiple course reimbursements cannot be completed using a single form.
• All questions must be answered in order to complete this form.
• The course review form must be answered in order to complete this form.

LODGING YOUR CLAIM FOR REIMBURSEMENT
Please use the document checklist below. You must submit all documents to complete the application.

• A completed “Claim For Reimbursement And Course Review Form” for a single.
• Proof of payment (receipts) for each cost to be claimed. Photocopies and scanned copies are accepted. Where the cost of the approved course is to be paid by your employer or business, reimbursement for the course cost may be claimed by the employer/business. Receipts must show that payment for the course has been made by the person / business to whom the reimbursement is to be paid.
• A copy of the certificate of course completion given to you at the course by the Training Provider.

Key date: The FarmReady program runs until 30 June 2012. To allow for administrative processes at the end of the program, reimbursement will not be available for courses completed after 31 May 2012.