Owner Reimbursement Cost (ORC)

You may be able to receive an ORC payment if:

• A Response Plan has been put in place to get rid of the plant pest, and

• You are a commercial grower who was directed by the government to take certain actions to help control or eliminate the pest.

  In some cases, you may still be eligible for a payment even if a Response Plan has not yet been agreed—but this would only happen if the signatories to the EPPRD approve the payment.

• • You are a commercial grower, and
  • During a biosecurity emergency, the government directed you to carry out one or more of the following actions:
    • Destroy your crops
    •  Quarantine your property
    •  Leave your land fallow (not planting crops for a period)
    • Take other direct actions as part of pest eradication
  • You suffered a loss or extra cost as a result of these actions, and this loss is something that ORC payments are designed to cover.

• •  Direct eradication costs that go beyond your usual operating expenses
  •  Value of destroyed crops
  • Loss of income due to fallow periods ordered by the government
  •  Replanting costs (for some industries like tree crops), based on the value of the crop and how much it has depreciated

To make a claim, you will need to provide auditable records—this means documentation that can be reviewed and verified. The type of evidence you need will depend on your crop and the type of loss or cost.

You may be asked to show:

• The area of crop destroyed on accurate property maps

•  Evidence of current and past yield

•  Farm gate value of your product (the price you receive at the farm, before transport or other costs)

• Production costs (costs of growing and managing your crop)

• Replanting costs, if applicable to your industry

  For example:

• If you are claiming replanting costs, you must provide records that show the cost to replant your crops.

• If you are claiming for a loss of profit due to a fallow period, you must provide records that show past yields, costs, and the net profit that would have been made during the fallow time.

  Keeping good records is part of running a successful farm and is essential if you want to apply for ORC payments. This includes tracking what it costs to grow your crops and how much money you make from selling them.

  During the Banana Freckle incursion in the Northern Territory in 2022, growers were able to successfully claim Owner Reimbursement costs due to their good record keeping. Please see the NT Farmers website for Thy’s Story – a Khmer grower in the Northern Territory, who successfully claimed the Owner Reimbursement Cost twice for two separate Banana Freckle incursions.