Review of the Dairy Industry Code

Public consultation on the Dairy Code of Conduct is closed.

How you had your say

We sought feedback from all stakeholders with an interest in the implementation of the Dairy Industry Code. Your feedback will help shape the future role and operation of the Code.

What you said

The department received 28 submissions. Ten of these submissions were confidential. Submissions were primarily provided through Have Your Say, with some submissions received via email.

The themes and key issues raised in the submissions include:

• Milk Supply Agreements
  1. Clarity of definitions, including sign-on payments and contract start dates
  2. Provisions around non-exclusive MSAs, including milk volumes and capacity
  3. Provisions around multi-year contracts
  4. Options for MSA variations and for more flexible pricing arrangements
  5. 14-day cooling-off period
• Price
  1. Standardised metrics for milk prices
  2. Flexible pricing models to enable access to hedging systems
  3. Region-specific approaches to milk pricing
• Compliance and enforcement
  1. Penalties for non-compliance
  2. Timeliness of enforcement activities
• Cooperatives & collective bargaining groups
  1. Definition of cooperative and collective bargaining groups and their obligations
  2. Negotiations with collective bargaining groups
• Publication
  1. Publication of prices on or before 1 June
  2. Publication of variations to an MSA
  3. Re-issuing MSAs to producers for minor revisions
• Dispute resolution
  1. Multi-party dispute resolution, timeframes, and cost sharing
  2. Mediator/arbitrator appointments
  3. Compulsory arbitration
• Other
  1. Imbalance of power to negotiate contract conditions
  2. Timing of the second review
  3. Expand scope to include retailers

What happens next

We will analyse the feedback and then prepare a review report for the Agriculture Minister’s consideration. The Agriculture Minister must provide a copy of the review report to the Treasurer by 31 December 2021.