Strong communities are the foundation of a strong agricultural industry.
Australian agriculture’s success is inseparable from the strength of the communities that support it. Farmers, workers and their families need access to quality healthcare, education, childcare, connectivity and essential services to live, work and prosper in regional, rural and remote Australia.
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) advocates for policies that strengthen the health, wellbeing and resilience of agricultural communities. This includes ensuring equitable access to healthcare, mental health support, early childhood education and care, digital connectivity and other essential services that enable people and businesses to flourish.
Strong regional communities attract and retain skilled workers, support economic participation and create opportunities for future generations. The NFF is committed to championing investment in the services, infrastructure and community capacity needed to build resilient, inclusive and prosperous rural Australia.
Access to quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) supports children’s development, enables workforce participation and strengthens regional communities.
Supporting mental health is essential to building a safe, sustainable and productive agricultural sector and requires investment in research and services for rural communities.
Every family should be able to access quality early childhood education and care, regardless of where they live.
Access to quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) supports children’s development, enables workforce participation and strengthens regional communities. For farming families, reliable childcare is essential to balancing work, family and business responsibilities.
However, many rural, regional and remote communities face limited access to ECEC services due to workforce shortages, geographic isolation and funding models that do not adequately support smaller communities. In some areas, families have few childcare options or no access at all.
The NFF supports policy settings that ensure children in rural, regional and remote Australia have the same opportunities to access quality early learning and care as those in metropolitan areas. This includes more flexible funding arrangements, stronger support for the regional ECEC workforce, and greater recognition of alternative care models such as family day care and in-home care, which are often better suited to smaller communities.
A sustainable and accessible ECEC system is essential to supporting farming families, increasing workforce participation and helping regional Australia thrive.
Supporting mental health is essential to building a safe, sustainable and productive agricultural sector.
Farming has always asked a lot of the people who do it. Drought, floods, market volatility, isolation and the relentlessness of running a farm business take a toll — and that toll is increasingly showing up in the mental health of farmers, farm workers and their families.
The NFF, together with a coalition of more than 60 partner organisations, is calling on the Australian Government to invest $50 million over five years in a coordinated approach to mental health and suicide prevention in agriculture.
This isn’t a single program or a quick fix — it’s an investment in the research, services and coordination that rural communities have long been missing, designed with farmers rather than just for them. It’s deliberately framed as the start of a genuine co-design process with government, reflecting the coalition’s view that a challenge this size needs a sustained national response, not another short-term grant round.
This ask is set out formally in the coalition’s Joint Statement, which outlines the key principles endorsed by more than 60 rural and healthcare organisations calling for coordinated national action.
The role of the Steering Committee
The Mental Health and Wellbeing in Agriculture Steering Committee, chaired by Dr Tim Driscoll, brings together researchers, clinicians, farmer representatives and mental health organisations. It keeps the coalition’s advocacy grounded in evidence — including Professor Jacki Schirmer’s Regional Wellbeing Survey — and provides the clinical and technical judgement behind the coalition’s policy positions as the initiative moves from advocacy toward design and delivery.
The role of the NFF
The NFF’s role is convenor. With 60-plus organisations involved, the coalition only works if someone coordinates it — bringing partners together, keeping government engaged, and ensuring one clear voice rather than 60 separate ones. That has included convening briefings and events with government, such as a Parliamentary Breakfast with the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and maintaining ongoing dialogue on how a co-designed investment could be delivered. The NFF isn’t the mental health expert in the room — its job is making sure those who are get heard clearly by government.
This is a coalition effort that grows stronger with every organisation that joins it. If yours wants to be part of the push for a properly funded, co-designed response, contact the NFF to get involved.
Need support now?
If you or someone you know in agriculture is struggling, help is already available. Visit the NFF’s Mental Health Resources page for a list of support services, including crisis lines, farmer-specific tools and counselling options. If you are thinking about suicide, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. If your life is in immediate danger, call 000.
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