There is good news and bad news for drought-hit southern Australia in the latest Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) long-term outlook.

The BOM has ramped up the chance of above average rainfall through the south for June through September however the change in weather patterns is not expected to hit in earnest until at least mid-June.

This will be detrimental for winter crops, which need to emerge and grow before winter dormancy sets in to maximise yield potential, while pastoralists will also have little feed until at least mid-August if there is no late autumn / early winter rain.

However, the BOM is strongly confident of the rain eventually setting in, with a 60 to 80 percent chance of exceeding average rain for most of inland and southern Australia for June to August, with September likely to be wetter again.

This is in spite of a markedly drier than average start to June according to the BOM's medium term outlooks.

For June the outlook is neutral for the majority of the nation's agricultural regions, with a faint positive signal emerging in dry regions such as the Eyre Peninsula and along the Murray River in NSW / Victoria.

From July things begin to turn around with up to a 70pc chance of exceeding the median in critical parts of South Australia.

The reading is even better in the July to September outlook, with up to 80pc chance of exceeding the median over the EP, with nearly all areas with a severe moisture deficit having a statistically significant chance of seeing better than average rain.

The news is also good for winter croppers in northern areas, with good falls forecast over winter, with up to 75pc chance of exceeding the median winter rainfall for northern NSW and southern Queensland, although average winter rainfall is lower than the summer tallies.

Western Australia, in particular cropping areas north of Perth, could be an area of concern, with as low as 35pc chance of exceeding the July-September median rainfall.