21 March 2025
AUSVEG acknowledges the release of the final report of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) supermarkets inquiry, as well as the Government’s in principle support of […]
20 March 2025
Input costs and trends Despite some growth in retail sales dollar value, Australian vegetable growers remain under extreme cost pressures, with recent data also revealing a significant […]
4 March 2025
AUSVEG has welcomed today’s commitment from the Australian Government to a National Food Security Strategy as recognition of the importance of shoring-up future food supply, and […]
14 February 2025
Relentless margin squeeze continues to challenge vegetable industry viability An ongoing cost-of-production crisis and lack of farm profitability has again led to a third of vegetable […]
14 February 2025
An ongoing cost-of-production crisis and lack of farm profitability has again led to a third of vegetable growers considering leaving the industry within the next year […]
12 February 2025
AUSVEG has welcomed the Government’s decision to discharge the Biosecurity Protection Levy legislation from the Senate. The biosecurity tax would have seen Australian vegetable growers, and […]
30 January 2025
AUSVEG has partnered with the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and Health and Wellbeing Queensland to reverse the trend of falling vegetable consumption through education and behaviour […]
6 November 2024
Following on from the Visa Options for Horticulture webinar, hosted by AUSVEG in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs’ Business, Industry and Regional Outreach (BIRO) section, […]
5 January 2025
Key Webinar Topics: Definition of employee Casual employment Labour hire (“same job, same pay”) Requests for flexible working arrangements Right to disconnect Fixed-term contracts Download a […]
14 January 2025
Looking for some summer listening? Why not get up to speed on some of the key issues, challenges and opportunities facing our industry, with the Advocacy Edition of the Vegalogue Podcast. With five insightful […]
13 December 2024
Input costs and trends Input cost increases, including wages, have remained a major concern for the Australian vegetable industry, and one of the top reasons growers are […]
17 December 2024
AUSVEG – the peak body for the Australian vegetable, potato and onion industry – and the Australian Garlic Industry Association (AGIA) – the peak body for […]
10 December 2024
AUSVEG’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the vegetable, potato and onion growers we represent have ratcheted up this year as a cost-of-production crisis and lack of […]
10 December 2024
As scams continue to rise across Australia, staying informed and vigilant is crucial to protect your business from potential fraud. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, often […]
15 November 2024
AUSVEG has launched its Federal Election Priorities outlining the key commitments needed to address the cost-of-production crisis and rock-bottom sentiment threating Australia’s vegetable growers and food […]
16 September 2024
Australian vegetable growers are continuing to question their economic viability as more than a year’s worth of low or negative margins threaten the long-term sustainability of […]
28 July 2024
AUSVEG welcomes Julie Collins MP as Australia’s new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The peak industry body for Australia’s $5.8 billion vegetable, potato and onion […]
15 May 2024
Last night, on Tuesday 14 May, the Federal Government released its 2024/25 Federal Budget. Much of the framing centred on providing cost-of-living relief for Australian households, […]
21 February 2024
A review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct (FGCC), a Senate inquiry into supermarket pricing, a year-long Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry, and three […]
29 January 2024
Update on the Closing Loopholes Bill The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 14 December 2023, which means that it was […]
21 December 2023
19 December 2023
Last week, AUSVEG sent our submission to Treasury for the 2024-2025 Federal Budget. In addition to re-emphasising support for our key policies, close to half a billion dollars […]
8 December 2023
Independent Reviewer’s Annual Report into the Australian Food & Grocery Code According to a report recently released by the Independent Reviewer of the Food and Grocery […]
28 November 2023
28 November 2023
16 November 2023
Devastating bushfires in Australia have become an all too familiar headline over recent years. Just like any other risk within your business, it’s important to prepare […]
13 November 2023
Input costs & trends The last three to four months have seen something of a reversal to the relief growers enjoyed earlier in the year from […]
31 October 2023
30 October 2023 In October, 13 Australian growers and industry representatives travelled to the UK and EU as part of the ATMAC European Study Tour […]
28 September 2023
28 Sept 2023 Survey into global production and operating costs AUSVEG is a member of the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce, a group of international produce […]
21 July 2023
21 July 2023 Farm input costs have continued to decline over recent months, following the trend over the past year as prices return to levels seen prior […]
24 May 2023
24 May 2023 Coping with stress, anxiety, and mental health. We all understand that tough times on the land come and go like the seasons, but […]
16 May 2023
10 May 2023 Federal Budget overview Last night on Tuesday 9 March the Federal Government released its 2023/24 Federal Budget. This budget was an opportunity […]
14 February 2023
Pricing and Inputs Farm inputs have remained elevated for the start of 2023 compared to pre-Covid levels. While they are still far above pre-Covid levels, some […]
7 February 2023
On Wednesday 31 January 2023, AUSVEG facilitated the first webinar covering the most recent workplace relations legislative reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) implemented […]
31 January 2023
AUSVEG supports the Federal Government’s goal of boosting the value of Australian agriculture to $100 billion by 2030 and believes the Australian vegetable industry will be […]
13 January 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to the international freight supply chain which anyone who has been exporting for the last 3 years would be familiar […]
20 December 2022
20 December 2022 Growers have been through the ringer in 2022, facing COVID-19, rising input costs, flooding, flooding, worker shortages, flooding, and varroa mite, to name […]
16 December 2022
Spinach recall As you may have seen in the media, there has been a recall of baby spinach products sold in Costco stores in NSW, Victoria […]
20 December 2022
As has been widely reported in the media, there has been a recall of a small selection of spinach products with spinach sourced from a single […]
13 December 2022
AUSVEG submitted a response this week to the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Inquiry into Food Security in Australia. The AUSVEG submission focused on eight key areas, […]
6 December 2022
AUSVEG continues to advocate for growers across a range of workforce issues through both direct engagement with Government and through range of other advocacy groups such […]
6 December 2022
AUSVEG has been advocating for the vegetable industry to source a reliable workforce to secure enough labour to meet the requirements of the sector across the […]
6 December 2022
The Food and Grocery Code of Conduct was introduced in 2015 as a voluntary code under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The Government has now […]
29 November 2022
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 is expected to pass the Parliament this week after the Government negotiated concessions. Employers and […]
7 November 2022
Workforce Special Agriculture Workforce Tripartite Following the Jobs and Skills Summit in September, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and a selection of unions and agriculture bodies joined […]
2 November 2022
Federal Budget 2022-23 AUSVEG welcomes the new Federal Government investment into the PALM scheme, skills, biosecurity, and accommodation. Each of these will contribute to the goal […]
10 October 2022
AUSVEG Advocacy Activities – overview AUSVEG has been regularly engaging with different areas of the horticulture sector and involved in a wide range of activities that […]
29 August 2022
Food Supply Chain Alliance calls for action on labour shortages ahead of Jobs and Skills Summit 26 August 2022 AUSVEG has joined other food supply chain […]
2 June 2022
‘Specials’ edition Continuing AUSVEG’s look at pricing issues within the fresh produce supply chain, AUSVEG has delved into the world of retail ‘specials’ and ‘promotion’ pricing. […]
14 April 2022
With the current challenges growers are facing with rising farm input costs and the margin squeeze from buyers, it is important that growers are reminded about […]
1 April 2022
1 April 2022 AUSVEG Advocacy Update Confidence and cash flow struggle for growers Growers are facing a challenge of confidence and cash flow as they battle […]
11 January 2022
AUSVEG has represented the vegetable and potato industries to government and in the media to raise industry’s concerns around COVID-related labour shortages and supply chain disruptions. […]
25 November 2021
Over recent months, vegetable growers have faced evolving challenges that include labour shortages, border closures, rising farm inputs, and COVID-19 restrictions. These are complex issues that […]
25 November 2021
AUSVEG is the peak industry body for Australia’s vegetable growers. Since COVID-19 emerged in 2020, just as growers have laboured to ensure Australian families are fed […]
14 September 2021
AUSVEG – along with the rest of the agriculture and horticulture sector – has advocated strongly for the Australian Agriculture Visa for many years as it […]
24 August 2021
Agriculture Visa announced Today the Australian government has confirmed that regulations to enable the creation of the Australian Agriculture Visa will be in place by the […]
6 July 2021
Over the next 12 months, AUSVEG will carry on with working with government and industry stakeholders to advocate on the issues affecting potato growers and their […]
10 June 2021
Harvest labour shortages continue to be central to AUSVEG’s advocacy activities as growers battle with declining backpacker numbers and international border closures.
24 May 2021
Harvest labour shortages continue to be central to AUSVEG’s advocacy activities as growers battle with declining backpacker numbers and international border closures. At the time of […]
5 March 2021
National Agriculture Workforce Strategy released Earlier today the National Agriculture Workforce Strategy was released. The strategy’s recommendations have aligned with many of AUSVEG’s key policy areas […]
22 February 2021
Over the next 12 months, AUSVEG will carry on with government and industry stakeholder discussions about the subjects affecting vegetable growers and their operations. In this […]
11 December 2020
Harvest Labour AUSVEG was this week in Canberra advocating to Federal Government for solutions regarding the Harvest Labour Shortage, which is at a critical stage. AUSVEG […]
8 December 2020
The Joint Standing Committee on Migration has called for changes to backpacker visas to address labour shortages in regional Australia. Workers in low-paid farm jobs such […]
2 December 2020
National Lost Crop Register AUSVEG is urging growers to utilise the National Lost Crop Register to log their losses due to the lack of labour available […]
1 December 2020
In this article, the Growcom Fair Farms Initiative team discusses Australia’s industrial relations system and its key component, the industrial instrument. Furthermore, the team delves into […]
6 November 2020
Labour Labour issues are coming to a head with various growers walking away from crops or ploughing them into the ground across the country. It continues […]
2 October 2020
Labour A report was released this week forecasting Australian horticulture industry is facing a shortage of up to 26,000 harvest workers throughout this coming season. The […]
29 September 2020
Labour Labour continues to be central to AUSVEG’s advocacy activities as workforce shortages hit the sector throughout Australia. AUSVEG has continued to raise concerns around worker […]
29 September 2020
Labour Labour continues to be front and centre of AUSVEG’s advocacy discussions with crunch time now firmly upon us in many parts of the country. AUSVEG […]
20 July 2020
Workforce access during the COVID-19 pandemic We are in extraordinary times in 2020 and with the current outbreak of COVID-19 it is clear we still have […]
10 June 2020
Impact from COVID-19 continues While restrictions are slowly being lifted in a number of states, AUSVEG continues to engage with federal government on the flow-on impacts […]
25 May 2020
Risk of processed potato dumping Over the last couple of weeks AUSVEG has been working with major potato processors to understand the potential risk of processed […]
3 June 2020
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, AUSVEG and other Australian horticulture industry bodies have been working on a range of different issues, as well as investigating options […]
24 April 2020
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 […]
17 April 2020
The COVID-19 situation continues to roll on with a significant impact on horticulture businesses across the country. AUSVEG, along with other horticulture industry bodies, have been […]
4 April 2020
Visa Extensions Announced Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge have today announced the visa extensions that the horticulture industry has been advocating […]
27 March 2020
The COVID-19 situation has continued to impact all Australians and the fresh produce industry. AUSVEG has continued to engage with all levels of government including a […]
25 March 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard and Australian horticulture has been no exception so far. AUSVEG has been fielding several questions and concerns from […]
5 March 2020
Coronavirus and Food Safety Information on the coronavirus and food safety has recently been released by the Australian Research Council Training Centre for Food Safety in […]
21 January 2020
AUSVEG CEO James Whiteside attended an Agriculture Industry roundtable in Canberra on Thursday last week with Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie, Deputy PM Michael McCormack and Emergency […]
3 December 2019
Labour Labour continues to be a high priority in AUSVEG’s advocacy efforts with the key aim to deliver a reliable, competent and efficient workforce for growers. […]
6 November 2019
The Federal Court has ruled that the backpacker tax cannot be applied to citizens of eight countries who are Australian residents. The decision applies to Working […]
22 October 2019
AUSVEG Canberra delegation Last week AUSVEG headed to Canberra to advocate on behalf of growers for practical solutions to the horticulture’s labour challenge. AUSVEG Chair Bill Bulmer, […]
11 June 2019
A number of important issues for the horticulture industry were discussed during a productive first meeting between AUSVEG and the newly-appointed Minister for Agriculture, Bridget McKenzie.