State government reveals how long producers should wait for disaster assistance

The time for processing an application has been reduced to 25 business days, however, the government has outlined a goal of 20 business days.

But for Kempsey dairy farmer Wade Francis, it's been eight weeks, or 40 days, since he lodged his recovery grant application.

In that time, he has spent $1200 a day on hand-feeding his milking herd of 90.

His message to the government on their timeframe to process applications is: 'hurry up'.

"I've lost so much money in the last six months due to flooding events and prolonged rain, it's pretty hard going at the moment," Mr Francis said.

This time last year, he was milking 117 head, producing more than 31 litres per animal. It's now down to 24 litres.

He not only lost cattle due to flooding but also had to sell some of his herd because of a loss in milk production.

"I'm just over it," he said.

In the Budget Estimates on August 20, it was revealed that out of 1036 primary producer applications, only 239 had been approved for grants after the floods.

In just eight days, the government is now saying the RAA has received almost 2000 applications and has approved more than $23 million in payments.

NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said the extensive paperwork and difficulty of the application process continued to cause massive angst, and the government could not "fob it off any longer".

"The Premier (Chris Minns) literally visited the people I did and heard the same stories I heard, and here we are 13 weeks later, and those very same people are wondering why nothing meaningful has happened," Mr Saunders said.

"We need action and we need it now."

In response, the government plans to boost staff numbers to speed up the processing of the grants, by doubling the number of people working on assessments by the end of this week.

By the end of this week, applicants who have lodged their application will either have their claim assessed or will receive a direct update on the status of it, and what, if any, information is still required.

The additional staff will work directly on assessments, ensuring straightforward applications are fast-tracked, and more complex cases have the extra resources to speed up the appropriate review.

Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the government's message to primary producers was clear.

"We have implemented improvements to processing applications but there is more work to do, and I understand their concerns regarding the waiting time for payments," Ms Moriarty said.

"That's why we are doubling the number of people on the job, to clear the backlog and get more payments out the door."