First review of Australia’s mandatory dairy code open for submissions

WA dairy farmers, processors and organisations are encouraged to share their thoughts on the industry’s national code of practice and whether it has addressed power imbalances within the industry.

Introduced in January last year following ACCC’s 2018 Dairy Inquiry Final Report, the Dairy Industry Code of Conduct is undergoing it’s first review.

It came after years of lobbying from industry and replaced the voluntary code to provide farmers with more bargaining power in their contract negotiations with milk processors.

Public submissions open today and Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said they were seeking input from farmers, processors, industry representative bodies, government agencies and consumer organisations.

“In this first review, feedback is required to make sure the code is operating as intended,” he said.

“The code is an important part of the dairy industry, and we want to make sure it is working positively for Australian farmers and businesses.

“The idea of the code was to address serious imbalances in bargaining power at each level of the dairy supply chain.

“It’s important that we do our bit as a government to ensure a fair go for dairy farmers.

“Creating a stronger business environment, healthier market competition and more competitive supply chains means fairer prices for farmers.”

Public submissions on the Code are open until August 15 online.