The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is currently drafting legislation to create more modern and streamlined agriculture levies and charges.
Growers will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft legislation via a proposed two-phase consultation process:
Phase 1 – early May 2023
- the draft Bills (excluding consequential and transitional arrangements);
- selection of the draft rules and regulations that will sit under the Bills, including details of levies for some, but not all, commodities.
Phase 2 – late 2023/early 2024
- draft rules and regulations, including the details for all remaining levies.
The draft agricultural levies legislation proposes to:
- make it easier to understand and administer levies;
- enable levies to apply to some agricultural services;
- standardise and simplify the disbursement of levy funds;
- reduce complexity and inconsistency of matching funding arrangements for research and development corporations;
- reduce the number of Acts and regulations people need to read to understand their levies and their obligations;
- provide greater flexibility in addressing compliance matters, and allow for a more proportionate response to non-compliance.
The key features of the framework will remain the same. Industry will continue to determine what levies are needed, how they work and what the rates are. Matching payments from government for research and development expenditure up to specified limits will continue.
Subscribe now to provide your feedback when public consultation opens in May 2023.
