​The purpose of this briefing note is to provide a survey of rural assistance schemes and programs in NSW, focusing on those which tend to provide direct support to individuals.

The onset of the rural recession in the early 1990s, when hundreds of farmers in NSW left the land, and the more recent difficulties caused by the drought in the northern part of the state, have meant that schemes of assistance for people in the countryside have assumed an even greater significance. 

This note sets out to outline the various programs of assistance provided for people in the country by the Federal and NSW governments. The first section of the note deals with assistance provided by the Commonwealth Government and the second part deals with that provided by the NSW Government. 

This outline is not exhaustive but simply intends to cover the principal means of assistance presently available for people in rural areas in NSW.