Funding Boosted to $1.8B for Drought-Stricken Communities

Farmer (L) donating farm supplies to another farmer in the drought-hit area of Gunnedah in New South Wales on Aug. 7, 2018. A crippling drought is ravaging parts of Australia, decimating herds and putting desperate farmers under intense financial and emotional strain, with little relief in sight. Saeed KHAN / AFP

Communities battling the worst drought in decades will receive extra funding, as the federal government significantly ramps up its drought assistance measures.

Sixty drought-affected councils—36 in New South Wales, 22 in Queensland, and 2 in Victoria—will be given $1 million each to spend on anything from drinking water to building new community facilities.