Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme
The Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme aims to reduce the amount of freight costs that are passed on to consumers of eligible goods in remote communities.
Program information
The Queensland Government is committed to easing the freight related cost of living pressures in remote communities. The Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme involves the application of a freight discount on eligible essential goods by eligible business owners at the cash register to ensure the benefit reaches local residents.
The Scheme provides three types of assistance to wholly or partly reimburse eligible business owners, being:
- Establishment Assistance: a one-off reimbursement (where applicable) to help offset establishment activities costs
- Discount Assistance: a monthly payment to reimburse the eligible business for monthly discount shortfalls
- Compliance Assistance: to reimburse the monthly compliance cost to the business.
NB Financial assistance under this Scheme attracts GST. Please see the guidelines for more information.
Establishment Assistance
This is a one-off reimbursement to help offset costs incurred in carrying out one or more establishment activities for an eligible business within two years from the Scheme opening on 12 January 2024.
The amount of the Establishment Assistance is the total of the cost of all eligible establishment activities incurred for the business. The amount of Establishment Assistance available is the lesser of:
- $14,000 (plus GST) for each of the approved premises of the eligible business
- $110,000 (plus GST).
An establishment activity includes the following:
- buying or installing digital stock management software
- upgrading or adjusting stock management software
- engaging a person (other than an excluded person for the business) to provide training or a service in relation to the above establishment activities.
The Establishment Assistance cannot be claimed for:
- buying, installing, or upgrading computer hardware
- buying or installing digital stock management software if at any time before the installation the business had previously used digital stock management software that is capable of Scheme compliance
- engaging an excluded person to carry out establishment activities (see the guidelines).
Discount Assistance
This is a monthly payment to wholly reimburse the applicant for revenue forgone because of the application of the published percentage discount to the usual retail prices of essential goods.
The published percentage discount is 5.2%.
Compliance Assistance
This is a monthly payment to wholly or partly reimburse the applicant for compliance costs. This includes costs that are likely to be incurred by an applicant in complying with the stock management requirements of the Scheme.
The amount of the Compliance Assistance in relation to the eligible business, for a particular month, is the lesser of:
- $250 (plus GST) for each participating premises of the eligible business for the month
- $2,900 (plus GST).
The Department of Transport and Main Roads has engaged QRIDA to administer the Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme.
Am I eligible?
The Scheme is limited to eligible businesses with one or more premises located in any of the following local government areas:
- Aurukun
- Burke
- Carpentaria
- Cook
- Doomadgee
- Kowanyama
- Hope Vale
- Lockhart River
- Mapoon
- Mornington
- Napranum
- Northern Peninsula Area
- Pormpuraaw
- Torres
- Torres Strait Island
- Weipa Town Area
- Wujal Wujal.
To be eligible for the Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme the following criteria must be met:
- The applicant must be an owner of an eligible business with one or more premises located in a remote community set out above; and
- The retail sale of eligible essential goods by the business, during the most recently ended financial year when the application is made, accounted for:
- where the premises are used primarily for the retail sale of fuel for vehicles, at least 15% of revenue of the business at the premises for the year; or
- otherwise, at least 50% of revenue of the business at the premises for the year.
How to apply
To apply for financial assistance under the Scheme, please complete and submit your application and supporting information via the QRIDA online portal.
If you do not have access to the internet, please contact QRIDA to receive a paper application form.
Related information
Funding Agreement Exemplar (PDF, 707KB)Frequently asked questions
Yes, however you can only apply for the premises located in the eligible local government areas.
An "essential good" is food, drink or a household item used for domestic purposes, other than:
- an alcoholic beverage; or
- bathroom equipment; or
- confectionery; or
- clothing; or
- an electrical appliance; or
- a kitchen utensil; or
- manchester; or
- a soft drink containing sugar; or
- whitegoods.
Examples of a household item used for domestic purposes:
- a household cleaning product, toothpaste, toilet paper
None of the following is an "essential good":
- fuel
- furniture or a furnishing
- hardware
- any of the following under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998
- a tobacco product
- a smokeless tobacco product
- a personal vaporiser
- a personal vaporiser related product.
An excluded person from providing software and training services in order to claim Establishment Assistance means:
- an owner or employee of the business
- a relative, other than a qualified relative, of an owner or employee of the business
- a related body corporate of an owner of the business
- another body corporate, if an owner of the business is a director, or holds at least 10% of the issued shares, of the body corporate, and
- a beneficiary of a trust of which a person mentioned above or a qualified relative of an owner or employee of the business, is trustee.
No. Only software installed after the commencement of the Scheme will be considered.
Yes, you are entitled to a decision review. See reviewing a decision for more information.
QRIDA will contact you via telephone, email, SMS or post. Should you be concerned about whether contact you have received is genuine, please contact QRIDA on Freecall 1800 623 946.
Under the Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme, an “eligible business” is defined as a business which holds an Australian Business Number, is registered for GST and has a bank account in the name of the business.
Questions concerning your personal taxation circumstances should be directed to your taxation adviser or the Australian Taxation Office on 13 72 86.
