The Regional Investment Corporation (RIC) administers concessional loans on behalf of the Australian Government for:
- farm businesses
- drought-affected small businesses
- other eligible businesses.
The purpose of the loans is to improve the long-term resilience and profitability of eligible businesses.
The RIC is a corporate Commonwealth entity. Its enabling legislation is available on the Federal Register of Legislation website. It has an independent Board whose role is to ensure the proper, efficient and effective performance of the RIC’s functions.
More information on the RIC and its loan products is available on the Regional Investment Corporation website.
Review of the operation of the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 – July 2024
The Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 required a review of the operation of the Act to be undertaken and finalised on or before 1 July 2024. The review considered:
- the scope of the RIC’s activities after 30 June 2026; and
- the appropriate governance arrangements for the RIC after that date.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry appointed Dr Wendy Craik AM to undertake the review.
The Review report was provided to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on 1 July 2024 and subsequently tabled in Parliament.
Download
Review of the operation of the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 (PDF 6.0 MB)
Review of the operation of the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 (DOCX 3.9 MB)
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Submissions to the review of the operation of the RIC Act for which we have received permission to make public can be found on the RIC Act Review Have Your Say project page.
Independent review of the RIC - February 2021
The RIC commenced operation in July 2018. In late 2020 the government commissioned Mr David Tune AO PSM to do an independent review of the RIC to make sure the initial settings and governance were appropriate in light of its initial operating experience.
The review, which was completed in February 2021, considered the:
- suitability and effectiveness of its loan products
- suitability of the current funding model
- overall risk profile of the RIC, with a focus on financial risk.
Downloads
Independent Review of the Regional Investment Corporation - February 2021 (PDF 1.9 MB)
Independent Review of the Regional Investment Corporation - February 2021 (DOCX 2.0 MB)
View the Australian Government response to the Independent Review of the Regional Investment Corporation.
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