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Financial support for rural families

Key facts

  • If you live in regional, rural or remote Australia you may be eligible for financial support and services from the Australian Government.
  • If you live in a rural or remote area and need to travel to access health care, Patient Assisted Travel Schemes (PATS) may be able to assist you with transport and accommodation costs.
  • Support is also available for farmers, students, carers, children who cannot attend school, people in a crisis, and those experiencing financial hardship.

    • What support is available if I need healthcare?

    If you live in a rural or remote area and need to travel for health care, you may be able to get financial help.

    Patient Assisted Travel Schemes

    Patient Assisted Travel Schemes (PATS) (Opens in new tab) can help when your only option is to travel for your medical care (Opens in new tab).

    PATS can help with the costs of your transport and accommodation.

    Each state and territory has its own PATS.

    Medicare

    Medicare rebates are available for many health services. This includes telehealth (Opens in new tab) appointments.

    Telehealth can help you access health care if you live in rural or remote locations. It can save you travel time and costs. Ask your doctor if they do telehealth consultations.

    Find out more about Medicare benefits for telehealth (Opens in new tab).

    You may be able to get more money back from Medicare if your family meets the Medicare safety net (Opens in new tab) threshold (Opens in new tab). You can register your family at Medicare Safety Nets (Opens in new tab).

    Find out more about Medicare services for rural and remote Australians (Opens in new tab).

    What support is available if I live in regional, rural or remote Australia?

    The Australian Government provides several payments and services for people who live in regional, rural or remote Australia (Opens in new tab).

    If you receive income support (Opens in new tab) from the Australian government already, you may also be eligible for the Remote Area Allowance (Opens in new tab).

    Financial help for parents

    If you are a parent in the country, you may be eligible for some payments for families.

    Financial help for farmers

    Payments for farmers include:

    Financial help for students

    Payments for students include:

    Financial help for carers

    Carers of children with a disability or medical condition can apply for government benefits such as:

    If your child aged under 7 years of age experiences a catastrophic event, you can apply for the Carer Adjustment Payment (Opens in new tab).

    There may also be other financial aids available. You can find out more about payments for carers (Opens in new tab).

    You can also access government funded services for carers by contacting Carer Gateway (Opens in new tab) on 1800 422 737.

    What support is available for financial hardship?

    If you are experiencing financial hardship, you may be able to get financial help (Opens in new tab).

    This can include payments from Services Australia, such as the:

    The Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) (Opens in new tab) has a national information line on 1300 771 741. They provide free, independent and confidential assistance to help eligible farmers and small farming businesses with financial planning.

    You can also call Financial Counselling Australia (Opens in new tab) on 1800 007 007 for free financial counselling.

    Rural aid (Opens in new tab) can provide support to farmers affected by natural disasters.

    If you live in New South Wales, you may be able to access financial assistance through the Rural Assistance Authority (Opens in new tab).

    When things are tough financially, it can take an emotional toll on your family. Community support groups like St Vincent De Paul (Opens in new tab) and the Salvation Army (Opens in new tab) can help families in crisis. Social work services (Opens in new tab) can also help.

    What support is available for mental health?

    If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help now, call triple zero (000). You can also call Lifeline on 13 11 14 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    If you live in a rural area, there are organisations that can provide mental health support.

    You can read more about rural and remote mental health (Opens in new tab),

    You can read more about mental health crisis support, mental health resources (Opens in new tab), and mental health helplines (Opens in new tab).

    Resources and support

    Speak to a maternal child health nurse

    Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to speak to a maternal child health nurse on 1800 882 436 (Opens in new tab) or video call. Available 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.

    Last reviewed: October 2025

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