Orange-based RIC expands to accelerate farm loan relief

The Regional Investment Corporation is stepping up its footprint in regional Australia with a major recruitment drive set to reshape how farm families access disaster relief funding. The government-backed lender, based in Orange, is bringing on 27 new staff members—expanding its workforce by nearly a third—as it shifts toward managing its entire loan pipeline in-house.

The move reflects both growing demand from farmers weathering successive droughts, floods, and biosecurity crises, and RIC's own evolution after five years of operation. Since its establishment, the organisation has channeled more than $3.15 billion across nearly 2,900 loans, typically at rates well below commercial banks. Yet for farmers in distress, speed and control matter as much as cost.

"What we're doing is bringing everything in-house—the intake, the assessment, the documentation, the settlement, and the ongoing management over the 10-year loan term," said John Howard, the RIC's chief executive. Previously, parts of this process relied on external partners, introducing delays. "Farmers will now be dealing with the RIC at every stage," Howard added, framing the shift as delivering a "significantly improved" experience.

The expansion reflects a deliberate strategy: keep the operation deeply anchored in regional Australia even as it scales. RIC's current workforce is overwhelmingly regionally-based—67 per cent concentrated in Orange and Central West, with nine in ten staff working outside state capitals. The 27 new roles span customer services, agri-lending, IT, finance, and systems management, and will be filled through recruitment at the Orange headquarters, remote positions, or hybrid arrangements nationwide.

Howard emphasised that this dispersed, regionally-minded workforce is intentional. "We look for people with genuine affinity to farming communities," he explained. That connection, he suggested, shapes lending decisions and customer interactions in ways that reflect farmers' real circumstances rather than bureaucratic distance.

Alli Gregory, program delivery executive director, reinforced that the expansion aims squarely at responsiveness. "When an application comes in, we do the assessment, all the documentation, disburse the funds, and manage the loan across its full term," she said. Consolidating these functions in-house, with staff who understand agriculture, is designed to cut delays and friction at each step.

The recruitment push signals confidence that farmer demand for accessible credit will remain substantial. While some regions have recovered from specific drought or flood events, cumulative pressures—from climate volatility to rising input costs—have kept rural businesses stretched. For farmers facing sudden losses, a quick lending turnaround is often the difference between recovery and collapse.

The RIC's expansion also underscores a quiet but consistent policy commitment: ensuring rural Australia's financial recovery infrastructure remains rooted in regional communities. By advertising three-quarters of new roles beyond Orange, the lender is actively recruiting from the farming heartland it serves, rather than consolidating staffing in capital cities.