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Supporting the businesses behind our regional communities

Small Business Week in South Australia is a timely opportunity to recognise the thousands of small and family businesses that keep our rural, regional and remote communities moving.

They are our mechanics, retailers, tourism operators, tradies, contractors, cafés, accommodation providers and professional services. They employ local people, buy locally, sponsor our local sporting clubs and are often the first to lend a hand when their communities are in need.

In regional communities, their success is closely tied to the industries and people around them.

Recent research from the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) reflects what we’re seeing in our own regions, with 87 per cent of regional small businesses reporting rising costs and 73 per cent reporting declining profits. Those figures are significant, but behind every percentage is a business owner and often a family trying to work out what comes next.

What we’re seeing across the regions

Across South Australia, improved seasonal conditions have brought some very welcome optimism to farming communities. But our Financial Counsellors continue to see that seasonal recovery does not immediately translate to financial recovery.

Cashflow remains tight for many primary producers following consecutive difficult seasons, while high input costs, debt and pressure to secure working capital continue to influence decisions.

Those pressures don’t stop at the farm gate.

Across our Small Business Financial Counselling program, we’re seeing continued pressure in tourism, hospitality, retail, fishing and aquaculture, transport and service industries.

Lower visitor numbers and reduced discretionary spending are affecting tourism-dependent communities, while the algal bloom continues to have flow-on effects for coastal businesses beyond fishing and aquaculture, biosecurity concerns continue to grow around Bird Flu and what it means for businesses and primary producers. Rising operating costs, particularly fuel, are adding another layer of pressure.

In the Northern Territory, businesses and primary producers are dealing with many of the same financial pressures alongside the impacts of a long and disruptive wet season. Road and freight disruption, delayed mustering, high fuel and transport costs and the challenges of operating across remote areas continue to affect cashflow and planning.

So while there are encouraging signs across our regions, recovery will take time.

A better season doesn’t immediately mean a recovered business.

What comes next?

One of the clearest themes we’re seeing is the need to look beyond the immediate challenges and consider what the next six or twelve months might look like.

For some primary producers, improving seasonal conditions are shifting the conversation towards debt reduction and repayment after several difficult years.

For small businesses, our Financial Counsellors are regularly helping people work through ATO and lender debt, reduced customer spending, refinancing challenges, rising costs and accumulated financial commitments.

What does cashflow actually look like over the coming months? What commitments are coming up? What needs to change? And what conversations need to happen now? These aren’t always easy questions, but having a clearer financial picture can make the next decision easier.

Starting the conversation early

Financial counselling isn’t about telling someone how to run their business. Our clients know their operation better than anyone.

Our role is to sit alongside them, help them understand their financial position and work through their options.

That might mean reviewing cashflow and debt, preparing for conversations with banks, the ATO or creditors, exploring refinancing or available assistance, or developing a realistic plan for what happens next.

Sometimes that plan is about stabilising and rebuilding. Sometimes it’s about changing direction. And sometimes it’s about making a difficult decision with better information in front of you.

What we’ve learnt over many years of working alongside rural and regional businesses is that the earlier the conversation starts, the more options there generally are.

Small Business Week is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution small and family businesses make, but also to recognise the people behind them.

When a regional business succeeds, the benefit rarely stops at its front door. It supports local jobs, families, other businesses and the wider community.

If things aren’t quite going to plan, you don’t have to work it all out on your own.

Our Rural and Small Business Financial Counselling services are free, independent and confidential for eligible businesses.

If you’re unsure where to start, a conversation with us is a good first step.

Contact Rural Business Support on FREECALL 1800 836 211 to make an appointment with a Financial Counsellor.

When the algal bloom brought Nikko’s fishing and processing business to a standstill, the impact went well beyond being unable to get out on the water. With no catch, no sales and mounting financial pressure, navigating financials, grant applications and available support became overwhelming.

Working alongside an RBS Small Business Financial Counsellor (SBFC), Nikko received practical, one-on-one support to work through immediate pressures, access available assistance and grants, reconnect with professional support, and begin getting his business back on track.

His story shows how Small Business Financial Counselling can provide a way forward when circumstances outside a business owner’s control put their livelihood under pressure.

*Names have been changed to protect client privacy. This experience has been shared with the client’s permission.

A spotlight on small business:

Woodlane Pantry

RBS is proud to partner with Kelly Johnson at Woodlane Pantry, a regional South Australian small business that transforms surplus and imperfect produce from Australian growers into practical, shelf-stable meals.

For $50, you can purchase a Pay It Forward Farmer Pack from Woodlane Pantry, which is distributed through the RBS Relief Fund. Our Financial Counsellors then help deliver the packs directly to farming families they’re working with across South Australia.

For Kelly, the initiative brings its work with farmers full circle – taking the produce farmers have grown, giving it a purpose, and then seeing some of that food find its way back into the homes of farming families when they need a little extra support.

So far, 47 packs have been donated, with another 20 funded and on the way, bringing the total to 67 Farmer Packs. We hope to see that number grow into the hundreds.

Want to pay it forward?
Visit the Woodlane Pantry website to donate a Farmer Pack for a South Australian farming family.

Read the full story to learn more about Woodlane Pantry’s ‘Pay It Forward Farmer Pack’ initiative, how it came about and why supporting farming families is at the heart of the business.

Funding secured to continue supporting drought-affected primary producers

RBS has secured $876,000 in funding from the South Australian Government to extend the Rural Financial Counselling Service and continue supporting primary producers recovering from drought.

While seasonal conditions have improved, many farming businesses are still managing the financial impacts of prolonged drought, including tight cashflow and accumulated debt.

This funding will allow our Rural Financial Counsellors to continue providing free, confidential and independent support, helping primary producers understand their financial position, explore their options and plan their next steps.

You can hear more about it on ABC Regional Drive, with Naracoorte Lucindale Mayor Patrick Ross as he welcomed the announcement, and highlighted the ongoing need for support across regional communities.

If drought continues to affect your business or finances, you don’t need to work through it alone. Contact Rural Business Support on 1800 836 211 to speak with our team.

The Rural Business Support team will be at the Riverland Field Days, and we’d love to see you there.

Our team provides free, confidential and independent support to primary producers, small business owners and landowners across regional South Australia.

Whether you’re looking to better understand your financial position, work through business challenges, plan for the future or understand your rights and responsibilities around mineral exploration and land access, our team is here to help.

📍 Find us at Site 435, corner of Central Boulevard and Fourth Street
📅 Friday 18 – Saturday 19 September

🤝 Site sharing with Grain Producers SA (GPSA) and Bentleys SA/NT

Drop in for a chat and learn more about the support available, we’d love to see you there!

H5 bird flu: avoid, record and report

With H5 bird flu remaining an important biosecurity issue, there are some simple steps we can all take to help protect livestock, wildlife and our farming industries.

If you come across a sick or dead bird, remember three simple steps: avoid, record and report.

Don’t touch or handle the bird, keep children and pets away, note what you’ve seen and where, and report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

For producers, it’s also a timely reminder to keep farm biosecurity plans current, protect feed and water sources where practical, and report unusual illness or deaths in livestock or wildlife.

While PIRSA and animal health authorities are the appropriate sources for H5 and biosecurity advice, Rural Business Support can help with the financial side of preparedness.

Our Rural Financial Counsellors can help producers review cashflow, working capital and debt commitments, and consider how their business could respond if circumstances change. FREE CALL 1800 836 211 to make an appointment with a Financial Counsellor.

Grants available for farmers to access vital firefighting equipment

New support for SA winegrape growers

Want to connect with RBS? Our team will be attending the following events:

Founded in 2006, Rural Business Support (RBS) is an organisation committed to building a profitable, sustainable and resilient rural sector by supporting businesses, farmers, landowners and communities in rural, regional and remote South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Our programs and services are free, independent and confidential for eligible clients.

FREECALL 1800 836 211

[email protected]

www.ruralbusinesssupport.org.au