Angus Atkinson at Coonabarabran spent $30,000 on aerial culling of 440 feral pigs across his property. In his words, it was “a costly exercise that we did with zero government assistance.” He is not alone. Australian farmers spend an average of $21,950 per year on pest and weed management, according to ABARES (2022). That figure went up $6,000 from the previous year. Nationally, farmers collectively spend $580 million per year trying to keep feral animals under control.
What most farmers do not realise is how much help is available right now. Free 1080 baits. Free trap and camera loans. Low-interest fencing loans up to $500,000. Tax deductions on everything you spend. The problem is that this information is scattered across more than 15 different government websites, buried in ministerial announcements and regional LLS pages that nobody has time to read.
This guide puts every program in one place. Here is every dollar of pest control funding available to NSW farmers in 2025-2026, what each program covers, whether you qualify, and how to access it.
Quick Reference: All Programs at a Glance
Before diving into the details, here is every program sorted by type.
Free Programs (Zero Cost)
| Program | What You Get | How to Access |
|---|---|---|
| Feral Pig and Pest Program ($14.3M) | Free 1080 grain/bait, trap loans, camera loans, aerial shooting, biosecurity officer advice | Call LLS: 1300 795 299 |
| LLS Bait Collection | Free 1080 meat baits, chicken wings, DOGGONE, FOXOFF, rabbit baits | Call LLS, order 3 days ahead |
| VPIT Training | Free online certification for 1080 handling | LLS website |
| SSAA Farmer Assist | Free volunteer shooters, $20M public liability | Register at farmerassist.com.au |
| Fox Baiting Incentive (Western LLS) | Buy spring fox baits, receive same quantity free in autumn | Must be LLS ratepayer, 3+ neighbours |
Grants (Money You Keep)
| Program | Amount | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|
| Good Neighbours Program ($10M) | Varies by project | Properties bordering public land |
| Conservation Partners Grants | $2,000 to $15,000/year for 3 years | Must hold BCT conservation agreement |
| Drought Pest Control Allocation | Share of $2M | Drought-affected Western NSW |
Loans (Favourable Terms)
| Program | Maximum | Interest Rate | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought Ready and Resilient Fund | $500,000 | ~3.98% (5yr) / ~4.81% (10yr) | 5 or 10 years |
| Drought Relief Loan | $100,000 | Low interest | Short-term |
Tax Deductions
| What You Spend On | Deduction Type |
|---|---|
| Professional pest control, baiting, ammunition | 100% in the year you spend it |
| Exclusion fencing | 100% in the year you build it |
| Equipment under $20,000 | Instant asset write-off |
| Pest eradication (capital works) | Immediate landcare deduction |
For full tax deduction details, see our complete guide to tax deductions for feral animal control.
Free Programs: Start Here
These programs cost you nothing. If you are spending your own money on pest control and have not contacted LLS about these, start today.
NSW Feral Pig and Pest Program (2025-2026)
This is the biggest program running right now. The NSW Government has committed $14.3 million for 2025-26, part of a broader $40 million investment and $1.05 billion biosecurity commitment. All 11 LLS regions participate.
What you can access through this program:
- Free 1080 grain and bait for feral pig control
- Free pig trap loans so you do not need to buy your own
- Free trail camera loans for monitoring before and after control
- Free bait stations for ongoing management
- One-on-one advice from your local biosecurity officer, including a customised control strategy for your property
- Coordinated aerial shooting across multiple properties and land tenures (17 additional operations planned from March 2026)
Results so far: 240,000 feral pigs controlled over three years. In 2024-25 alone, 83,207 pigs and 15,576 deer were controlled through 41 aerial programs. A single aerial operation near Dubbo removed 2,276 pigs over five days across 149,000 hectares.
How to access it: There is no application form. Call Local Land Services on 1300 795 299 and ask to speak with your local biosecurity officer. They will visit your property, assess your situation, and develop a plan. You can also register for coordinated group programs with your neighbours.
The program runs until June 2026.
Free LLS Bait Collection
Every LLS region runs seasonal bait collection programs where accredited landholders can pick up baits at no cost. The specifics vary by region and season, but a typical offering (confirmed for Central Tablelands, April to June 2026) includes:
- 1080 meat baits for feral pigs
- Chicken wings treated with 1080
- Baited grain treated with 1080
- 50 DOGGONE baits for wild dogs
- One FOXOFF farmpack for foxes
- Baited carrots for rabbits
What you need first: A current VPIT (Vertebrate Pesticide Induction Training) certificate or AQF3 Chemical Accreditation. You cannot handle 1080 or PAPP baits without accreditation. The good news is that VPIT training is free, available online through LLS, and valid for five years.
Timing: Primary baiting seasons are autumn (March to June) and spring (September to November). Autumn is the main window for coordinated wild dog and fox baiting programs across NSW.
How to access it: Call LLS on 1300 795 299, ask about bait collection dates in your region, and order baits at least three days before collection. Each LLS region maintains its own schedule and pickup locations.
SSAA Farmer Assist Program
The Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia runs a free program connecting farmers with trained volunteer shooters. Every volunteer has passed accuracy accreditation equivalent to professional shooter standards. The program carries $20 million public liability insurance covering all participants, and operates under a strict code of practice covering safety, animal welfare, and ethical practices.
How to access it: Register at farmerassist.com.au and post a request. The program operates around the clock for help requests.
This is worth knowing about even if you use professional pest control services. Volunteer shooters can maintain pressure between professional operations, keeping numbers in check between scheduled visits.
Fox Baiting Incentive (Western LLS)
Western LLS runs a seasonal incentive program for fox control. Buy subsidised 1080 fox baits in spring (at around $0.60 each), and receive the same quantity of baits free the following autumn. This effectively halves your fox baiting costs across the year.
Requirements: You must be an LLS ratepayer with no outstanding fees, and you need to coordinate with at least three neighbouring properties. This is because fox baiting works best as a coordinated effort across property boundaries.
Grants: Money You Do Not Repay
These programs provide direct funding or services that you do not repay. Eligibility is narrower than the free programs above, and budgets are limited, so check the requirements before investing time in an application.
Good Neighbours Program ($10 Million)
If feral animals are coming onto your property from national parks, state forests, crown land, or council reserves, this program exists specifically for your situation. The NSW Government has committed $10 million to pest and weed control at boundaries between public and private land.
The program operates through 36 coordinated projects across NSW, delivered in partnership with National Parks and Wildlife Service, Forestry Corporation, Crown Lands, and local councils. In its first round, $2.1 million funded 17 projects tackling everything from feral pigs and deer to wild dogs, feral goats, and cane toads.
Example projects include:
- Feral pig baiting across Forestry Corporation and Crown Lands boundaries (Central Tablelands)
- Peri-urban feral goat, pig, and deer control in partnership with Tamworth Regional Council (North West)
- Cross-tenure wild dog management with NPWS and Crown Lands (Western)
Am I eligible? If your property shares a boundary with public land and pest animals or weeds are crossing that boundary, you may qualify. The program is not a grant you apply for individually. Projects are coordinated at the regional level by LLS in partnership with public land managers.
How to start: Email [email protected] or call LLS on 1300 795 299 and describe your boundary situation. If a project is already running in your area, they can include you. If not, your enquiry helps make the case for a future project.
The program runs until 30 June 2026.
Conservation Partners Grants (Biodiversity Conservation Trust)
If you hold a conservation agreement with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, you can apply for grants to control introduced pest animals on your property. Funding covers pest animal management, fencing, weed control, and revegetation.
Grant amounts:
- Up to $15,000 per year for three years (perpetuity agreements)
- Up to $8,000 per year for three years (term agreements)
- Up to $2,000 per year for three years (wildlife refuges)
- Up to $30,000 per year for agreements covering more than 1,000 hectares
How to apply: Submit an expression of interest to [email protected]. Applications are ongoing; there is no set closing date.
Drought Pest Control Allocations (2026)
The February 2026 drought support package includes $2 million specifically for feral pig and deer control in drought-affected areas and $1.2 million for kangaroo population reduction in drought-affected Western NSW. These funds are delivered through LLS programs in affected regions.
Loans: Favourable Terms for Fencing and Infrastructure
Government pest control loans are not grants. You must repay them. But they offer interest rates and terms you will not find at any bank.
Drought Ready and Resilient Fund (DRRF)
This is the main loan program available right now for pest control infrastructure, particularly exclusion fencing. The NSW Government expanded it significantly in February 2026, doubling the maximum loan from $250,000 to $500,000 and reducing interest rates by 1%.
Loan details:
- Maximum: $500,000
- Interest rate: Approximately 3.98% fixed for 5 years, or 4.81% for 10 years (rates indexed monthly to NSW Treasury Corporation bonds, fixed at drawdown)
- Repayment: Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually
- What it covers: Exclusion fencing and cluster fencing (explicitly listed), environmental improvements including pest and weed control, water infrastructure, fodder storage, income diversification, and training
Eligibility criteria:
- Operate a primary production enterprise (sole trader, partnership, trust, or private company)
- Hold an ABN and declare as primary producer for tax
- Annual primary production income between $75,000 and $5 million (or 50% of gross income)
- Have a farm business resilience plan approved by RAA
- Demonstrate long-term viability and repayment capacity
- Provide satisfactory security (registered charge or caveat)
Documents you will need:
- Three years of tax returns and financial statements
- Property rates notices
- Mortgagee consent forms (if applicable)
- Farm business resilience plan
How to apply: Contact the Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or email [email protected]. Apply through the RAA website. The paperwork looks heavy, but RAA staff walk you through the process. Call them first and they will tell you exactly what you need before you start gathering documents.
What Happened to the Farm Innovation Fund?
If you have searched for the Farm Innovation Fund, you will find outdated references across many websites. The Farm Innovation Fund was renamed the Drought Infrastructure Fund. It is now closed because all available funds have been allocated. Existing approved applicants can still draw down on their loans, but no new applications are being accepted.
The Drought Ready and Resilient Fund (above) is the current replacement. It covers the same eligible expenses including exclusion fencing, with a maximum of $500,000 at low fixed interest rates.
Important: Loans Are Not Grants
This distinction matters because many farmers assume the Farm Innovation Fund (or its replacement) is free money. It is not. These are loans with favourable terms, but you must repay the principal with interest. As one Deniliquin farmer told NSW Farmers: “What farmer wants to take on more debt especially in this drought?”
Consider a loan carefully. The tax deductions you can claim on fencing reduce the effective cost significantly, and you can stack loans with free LLS programs and tax deductions to bring your actual out-of-pocket cost well below the headline figures. See the worked example below for the full calculation.
Federal Programs: What Actually Reaches Farmers
The federal government announces large pest control budgets. Understanding how this money works is important so you do not waste time applying for grants you cannot access.
How Federal Funding Works
Most federal pest control funding does not go directly to farmers. It flows through state and territory agreements. Here is where the money goes:
- $49.1 million (2021-2025) plus $11 million (2025-26) through the Supporting Communities program: funds state-delivered programs like the LLS programs listed above
- $5 million through the Enhancing National Pest Animal and Weed Management agreement: split across state-specific projects
- $13 million through the Advancing Pest Animal and Weed Control Solutions grant round: funds 19 research projects developing new control tools (biological controls, genetic modification, automation technologies). This money goes to research organisations, not farmers.
- $2.77 million for National Coordination programs covering feral pigs, deer, cats, and foxes, delivered through peak bodies
What this means for you: You cannot apply for these federal programs directly. But the free LLS baits, coordinated aerial shooting, trap loans, and biosecurity officer support you access through LLS are partly funded by this federal money. When you call LLS on 1300 795 299, you are accessing programs that federal, state, and local funding all support.
Tax Deductions: Claim What You Spend
Every dollar you spend on pest control is potentially deductible. This is not a separate funding program; it is money back on expenditure you are already making.
The short version:
- Ongoing pest control costs (professional services, baiting, ammunition, fuel, vehicle expenses) are immediately deductible as business expenses
- Exclusion fencing is 100% deductible in the year you build it, regardless of cost
- Equipment under $20,000 (trail cameras, firearms, traps, thermal scopes) qualifies for the instant asset write-off
- Capital expenditure on pest eradication qualifies as a landcare operation and is immediately deductible
For the complete breakdown of every deduction pathway, what records to keep, worked dollar examples, and how to prepare for your accountant, read our full guide: Tax Deductions for Feral Animal Control: What NSW Farmers Can Claim.
How to Stack Programs: A Worked Example
You are not limited to one program. Here is what a practical combination looks like for a mixed farming operation dealing with feral pigs.
Step 1: Free programs (ongoing cost reduction) Call LLS and access the Feral Pig and Pest Program. Get free 1080 grain and bait for pig control. Borrow a pig trap and trail cameras at no cost. Complete your free VPIT training online if you have not already. Join a coordinated group program with neighbouring properties for autumn baiting, where you collect free 1080, DOGGONE, and FOXOFF baits.
Saving: A single pig trap costs $300 to $500 to buy. Trail cameras run $100 to $800 each. 1080 grain treatment costs $50 to $100 per batch. Through this program, all of it is provided at no cost.
Step 2: Boundary protection (if applicable) If pigs are coming from adjacent national parks or state forests, contact the Good Neighbours Program. LLS may already have a cross-tenure project running in your area, or your enquiry can trigger one.
Saving: Government-funded control on the public land boundary, reducing reinvasion.
Step 3: Infrastructure investment Apply for a Drought Ready and Resilient Fund loan to build exclusion fencing around your most productive paddocks. At $5,000 per kilometre for a 10 km perimeter, that is $50,000 financed at approximately 4% over 10 years.
Step 4: Tax deductions Claim the exclusion fencing as a 100% immediate deduction in the year you build it. On a $50,000 fence at a 32.5% marginal tax rate, that is $16,250 back at tax time. Claim your ongoing baiting costs, ammunition, and any professional pest control services as business expenses. If you purchase trail cameras or other equipment under $20,000, claim the instant asset write-off.
Net position: On the fencing alone, you spent $50,000 but get $16,250 back at tax time, bringing your net cost to $33,750 financed at 4%. Your ongoing bait, trap, and camera costs are zero through LLS. If your boundary qualifies for the Good Neighbours Program, the government is paying for control on the public land side as well. The headline cost of pest control is $21,950 per year. Your actual cost after stacking these programs is a fraction of that.
Your First Call to LLS: What to Expect
Almost every program listed in this guide starts with the same phone call. Here is what to prepare before you ring.
Call: 1300 795 299
Ask for: Your local biosecurity officer
Have ready:
- Your property location and size
- What pest species you are dealing with (pigs, deer, foxes, wild dogs, rabbits)
- How long you have had the problem and whether it is getting worse
- What control methods you have already tried
- Whether neighbouring properties have the same problem
- Whether pests are coming from adjacent public land (relevant for Good Neighbours)
What happens next: Your biosecurity officer will discuss your situation and develop a customised plan. They may visit your property. They will explain which programs apply in your LLS region, help you access free baits and equipment, and connect you with coordinated group programs if neighbours are interested.
This is not a formal application process. It is a conversation with someone whose job is to help you manage pest animals on your property.
Important Notes
Programs change. Government funding is allocated on annual budget cycles. The Feral Pig and Pest Program, Good Neighbours Program, and DRRF loans described here are confirmed for the 2025-26 financial year. Check with LLS or RAA for the latest status after June 2026.
Regional availability varies. Each of the 11 LLS regions runs its own bait collection schedule, participates in different coordinated programs, and may have region-specific initiatives. What is available in Central Tablelands may differ from what is on offer in the North West. Your biosecurity officer knows what applies in your area.
Eligibility requirements matter. VPIT certification is required for any 1080 handling. DRRF loans have income thresholds and documentation requirements. Conservation Partners Grants require an existing BCT agreement. Check the specific requirements before committing time to an application.
This guide is not financial advice. For tax deductions, work with your accountant. For loan decisions, assess your own financial position and capacity to repay. We have presented the programs accurately based on published government information, but individual circumstances vary.
You Are Not in This Alone
Farmers collectively spend $580 million per year on pest control. That is $580 million in private money going toward a problem that crosses property boundaries, breeds on public land, and requires coordinated landscape-scale management to solve.
The programs in this guide exist because governments at every level recognise that individual farmers cannot solve this problem alone. As NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin put it: “No one-man band can get on top of these animals when the numbers are just so wildly out of control.”
The first step is the same for almost every program: call LLS on 1300 795 299.
If you want help coordinating professional pest control that integrates with these government programs, get in touch. A property assessment identifies what you are dealing with, maps pest populations using thermal drone surveys and trail cameras, and builds the data foundation for a proper management plan. The reports and documentation from professional operations also make grant applications, tax claims, and biosecurity duty compliance straightforward for you and your accountant.
Call us on 0491 222 792 or request a property assessment to get started.