As the COVID-19 crisis continues, AUSVEG and other horticulture industry bodies have been working on a range of different issues, as well as investigating options to address them. Some of which do not always come to fruition, or take time to develop, but the below is a brief wrap up of some of the many solutions AUSVEG and others have been working on to assist growers through this challenging time.

Plans to fast track stimulation of the economy
Federal Government is now turning its attention to what needs to be done to getting the economy back on track as soon as possible.

The NFF has been engaged with Federal Treasury to consider regulatory settings which will help the economy as we enter the recovery phase of COVID-19. AUSVEG will provide feedback to this via the Horticulture Council. The advice they are seeking from industry falls broadly into three categories:

• regulations made to deal with the pandemic that should be revisited – either to retain as is, strengthen or wind back when the economy moves to a recovery phase;
• live regulatory issues that business are facing that remain unresolved; or,
• new regulatory policy settings that could “turbo charge” economic recovery.

Any feedback from members is welcome on this issue as we look to formulate a strong case and get Australia back on track.

Labour
Horticulture Award changes
The NFF Horticulture Council is investigating options to look at temporary changes to the Horticulture Award to assist growers to manage their workforce and their business during COVID-19. The industry is committed to looking at ways to improving the conditions of the Horticulture Award for growers, while maintaining a safe workplace for its employees.

Social distancing guidelines have made it impossible for businesses to operate the way they previously had and growers and workers have had to adapt to allow the business to continue.

NFF Hort Council and Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) have approached the AWU seeking support to changes to the Horticulture Award to allow growers more flexibility to manage the impact of coronavirus on their workplaces.

The changes we are proposing are:

• To casual employee’s overtime arrangements to facilitate social distancing and relieve some of problems associated with finding staff and engaging transient workers.
• To remove the requirement to pay a shifpenalty so growers can work smaller teams in staggered shifts.
• To enable growers to direct employees to take annual leave where there are downturns in work demands and to enable farms to enforce social isolation.
• To allow growers to direct workers to perform alternative duties, to address fluctuations in work needs and address changes in patterns of work.

The last 2 variations would mimic recent changes to the Fair Work Act which currently only apply to employers that are eligible for the “JobKeeper” allowance.

Accommodation
Industry has been working with stakeholders around accommodation options particularly for those affected by normal accommodation options reducing their occupancy rates due to COVID-19 measures.

AUSVEG has been engaged with the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) and linked some of their state bodies with AUSVEG state members to help assist with on the ground accommodation options.

Self-isolation clarity and registration
AUSVEG and the NFF Horticulture Council has discussed with the Department of Agriculture around seeking clarity over self-isolation and movements of workforce across borders. It is clear that this legislation falls under state governments and growers are urged to see their state government websites, or reach out to their state representative body with any specific concerns.

Industry also raised the registration of backpackers of self-isolation on the Australia.gov.au website. AUSVEG understands that this registration is not yet operational, and is therefore urging all growers and backpackers to look at their relevant State Government health website and make the best decision possible based on the information provided.

It is not clear as to when the registration will be available, but AUSVEG will keep growers up to date once it becomes available.

Visa Extensions
AUSVEG and the greater horticulture industry were successful in advocating for extensions to visa for holders who are working in agriculture. This is an important policy announcement which helps businesses plan and have confidence they can keep their existing workforce and keep them safe and healthy.

Details on a number of the new visa arrangements can be found on the new Department of Home Affairs COVID-19 website – https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/.

As well as updated information from the Fair Work Ombudsman.

• Visa holders & migrants
• Migrant worker & visa holder information during coronavirus
• Pacific Labour Scheme
• Seasonal Worker Programme
• Government information about coronavirus (subsite)

Early access to superannuation for Seasonal Workers

This month the Australian Government announced that some temporary visa holders with work rights would be able to access their Australian superannuation to help support themselves during this time. Workers participating in the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme are eligible to apply for the early release of their superannuation from 20 April 2020 up to the value of $10,000 per financial year should they be unable to meet their immediate living expenses. More information about the early release of superannuation can be found on the Australian Taxation Office website. Workers will need to create a MyGov account online to apply for their superannuation.

If workers have any difficulty creating a MyGov account they can call the Australian Taxation Office on 13 10 20.

Workplace and Health & Safety Guidelines
The following workplace guidelines have been developed by various horticulture and agriculture stakeholders and may be of use to growers.

• COVID-19 Guidelines for the Fresh Produce Industry: HERE
• COVID-19 Checklist for Fresh Produce Workplaces: HERE
• 7 Steps to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission: HERE
• COVID-19 and Protecting your Workforce: HERE
• FarmHub COVID-19 Key Information: HERE
• FarmHub COVID-19 Workplace Guide: HERE

JobKeeper
The NFF has provided the following update:

The Government is making changes to the eligibility criteria for the JobKeeper payment to make it easier for farm businesses impacted by drought to claim the payment. They have also amended the eligibility criteria to enable those that do not pay GST (eg. exporters) to claim the payment.

For farming businesses and their employees to be eligible for JobKeeper payments, the farm business needs to meet a number of criteria. One criterion requires farm businesses to show a 30% fall in turnover due to COVID-19 impacts where turnover is based on GST. For farm businesses coming out of drought, this criterion can be difficult to meet in light of low turnover in previous drought years.

The Government is introducing a new ‘alternative test’ to measure turnover where the comparison period is considered unrepresentative of normal operating periods. ATO examples include when a farm business has been subject to severe drought from 2018 to 2019 or a new business. The details of what the new ‘alternative test’ will be are still under development. We will provide updated information as soon as they come to hand.

The Government has also amended the ‘basic test’ to measure turnover to enable those farm businesses that export to international markets and do not pay GST to be eligible for the payment where they meet the other criteria. The calculation of turnover for those businesses that do not pay GST a will be as if they do pay GST.

Details are available on the ATO website here.

Growers are also encouraged to look at the changes in the JobKeeper legislation to see how it may assist them. You can see a full break down by the Fair Work Ombudsman here.

Labour Hire
AUSVEG has been made aware of anecdotal information that some labour hire business are receiving the JobKeeper wage subsidy and not passing it on to growers.

AUSVEG has had number of discussions on this, including with the Recruiting, Consulting and Staffing Association (RCSA), and if a labour hire contractor is receiving the JobKeeper allowance it must be passed onto the employee.

Growers are urged to talk to their labour hire provider about this and please inform AUSVEG if this is not occurring.

Border Control Information
For information on border movements and the latest information head to Farm Hub website here.

Production
This week Rabobank published an update on local supply and demand for agricultural chemicals and urea. The research reinforces what we know about strong local demand driven by seasonal conditions, and a supply chain under pressure due to pre-existing issues and COVID-19-related disruptions to production and logistics in China.

Overall, the research indicated adequate supply of inputs for cropping operations would be available in most instances, and in cases where there were supply shortages, satisfactory alternatives or workaround strategies could be adopted. The full update is available here.

Industry is continually monitoring this situation to ensure inputs is available for growers.

Fuel
The recent drop in fuel prices has been welcomed across the sector, however there has been concerns raised in regards to a fuel surcharge by freight companies. This has been discussed at a range of levels, if you are concerned about the fuel charge surcharge, please discuss with your transport operator, or raise examples with us.

Markets
The impact of the closures of the food services sector has been significant for our industry. As a result AUSVEG and other bodies, along with government, have been looking at other opportunities for some of that produce domestically and internationally.

Government has been looking at opportunities overseas for both premium produce into premium markets, as well as opportunities around export opportunities to those countries who are net food importing countries. This is an ongoing discussion with industry and government and aimed at providing an option for growers to sell their produce.

Another aspect being explored is getting excess produce to charities which could help people during this challenging time, to help reduce waste, as well as provide another avenue to growers. This has also been discussed in that government could potentially pay growers enough to cover cost of production to help support this initiative. This is a very complex opportunity, and is still currently being worked through.

Increasing Domestic Consumption
Increasing domestic consumption continues to be a key driver during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear there has been an increase in staple products such as pasta and rice, but a reduction in demand for fresh produce following the closures of the food services sector.

AUSVEG is working on a campaign to help increase vegetable consumption in Australia while we are also supporting Queensland state member Growcom in their recent campaign which launched this week called ‘Eat yourself to health’.

AUSVEG has also engaged with a number of media outlets to try and raise awareness of the impact of the closures of the food services industry and the impact it has had on the sector, as well as the importance of maintaining a healthy diet.

Complete the AUSVEG Grower Survey now!
AUSVEG has launched its 2020 AUSVEG Grower Survey and is calling for your feedback to help guide its agenda for this year.

This is your chance to have your say on significant issues such as your Research and Development levy and help set the priorities for AUSVEG’s advocacy agenda.

Click here to complete the AUSVEG Grower Survey

For more information, contact AUSVEG National Manager – Public Affairs Tyson Cattle at tyson.cattle@ausveg.com.au, or 03 9882 0277.