National Rural Advisory Council
The National Rural Advisory Council (NRAC) is a skills-based independent advisory council to the Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
NRAC was established in December 1999 as a statutory consultative body following legislative changes to the Rural Adjustment Act 1992. It replaced the Rural Adjustment Scheme Advisory Council and expanded the range of roles and functions of the original council.
NRAC advises the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on rural issues including exceptional circumstances (EC) applications and extensions to EC declarations.
Assessment of EC applications
When the Australian Government receives an EC application, the Minister will refer it to NRAC for assessment. NRAC conducts a comprehensive assessment of the application against the agreed EC criteria, which may include an on-ground inspection tour.
On completion of its assessment, NRAC presents its recommendations to the Minister, who has responsibility, after consulting with the Australian Government, for declaring whether or not a particular area is experiencing EC.
Review of EC declarations
NRAC reviews EC-declared areas before their expiry date to assess whether an extension to the declaration is warranted. The EC review criteria differ from the EC criteria and take in to consideration whether seasonal, agronomic and resource conditions have provided an opportunity for the majority of producers within the EC-declared area to begin to carry out typical farm management practices relevant to their enterprise type and production cycle.
As part of the review, NRAC assesses information from a number of sources, including analyses provided by the Bureau of Rural Sciences and Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, state and territory governments and local producers. Additionally NRAC may undertake an on-ground inspection tour of the area.
If NRAC assesses an area as no longer being in EC, and the Minister accepts the advice not to extend the declaration, assistance ceases on the date the declaration ends. If NRAC supports extending the declaration, and the Minister agrees, assistance continues until the new declaration end date.
For more information on NRAC’s role in assessing EC applications download the EC Handbook.
NRAC Annual Reports
- NRAC 2008-09 Annual Report
- NRAC 2007-08 Annual Report
- NRAC 2006-07 Annual Report
- NRAC 2005-06 Annual Report
A list of NRAC members and biographies in included in the Annual Reports.
For further information contact:
NRAC Secretariat
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6272 4991