Explanatory Statement
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 2024
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026
Legislative Authority
The Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 2024 (the Act) authorises the imposition of primary industries levies in regulations that are duties of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution. Section 27 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Part 2 of the Act authorises the regulations to impose a levy in relation to one or more products that are the produce of a primary industry in the circumstances prescribed by the regulations. The Act authorises the regulations to provide for an exemption from a levy imposed under Part 2 (section 9) and for working out the rate of the levy (section 16).
Purpose
The Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) amends the levy rates in relation to strawberry runners to facilitate the repayment of industry biosecurity response contributions to the Australian Government for the Varroa destructor mite.
Specifically, the Regulations amend the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 2024 (the Levies Regulations) to:
- decrease the rate of the research and development component of the strawberry runner levy from $7.87 to $7.68; and
- increase the rate of the biosecurity response component of the strawberry runner levy from 0 cents to 19 cents.
Background
The agricultural levy system is a long-standing partnership between industry and the Australian Government to facilitate industry investment in strategic activities. Levies are generally payable by farmers, producers, processors and exporters.
Amounts equal to the collected levy are generally disbursed under the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Disbursement Act 2024 by the Commonwealth to recipient bodies and other entities to support activities the levies are imposed to fund. This includes research and development, biosecurity activities and biosecurity responses.
Subsection 7(3) of the Act provides that before the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of subsection 7(1), imposing a levy in relation to products that are the produce of a primary industry, the Minister must be satisfied that the imposition of the levy would result in one or more types of expenditure on matters or activities specified in subsection 7(3). Any levy imposed is a duty of excise, which includes a tax on the production, manufacture, sale and distribution of goods.
To the extent that the amendments to levies imposed by the Levies Regulations could be made for the purposes of subsection 7(1) of the Act, the imposition of those levies will result in one or more of the types of expenditure on matters or activities required by subsection 7(3) of that Act.
Paragraph 27(2)(c) of the Act provides that before regulations are made setting or amending the rate of a levy, the Minister must be satisfied that appropriate consultation has been undertaken with bodies and persons involved in the industry in relation to the levy and any recommendations made by those bodies or persons about the rate have been considered. The Minister was satisfied under paragraph 27(2)(c) of the Act that appropriate consultation has been undertaken with bodies and persons involved in the industry in relation to the levies and any recommendations made by those bodies or persons about the rates have been considered.
Impact and Effect
The amendments will benefit strawberry runner purchasers who are the payers of the strawberry runner levy. The change to the biosecurity response component of the levy on strawberry runners facilitates repayment of the strawberry industry’s contribution to the national biosecurity emergency response to Varroa destructor mite underwritten by the Australian Government under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed.
There are no overall increased financial obligations for levy payers. The decrease to the research and development component of the levy means the overall levy rate on strawberry runners remains at $8.00 and therefore does not lead to increased financial obligations for levy payers.
Consultation
The measures in the proposed Regulations were developed in consultation with bodies and persons involved in the industry in relation to the strawberry runner levy in accordance with the consultation requirements set out in paragraph 27(2)(c) of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 2024.
Strawberries Australia Incorporated (SAI), the industry body for strawberry runners, originally notified levy payers of a proposed increase to the biosecurity response component of the levy on strawberry runners. Levy payers objected to the fact that the proposed change would result in an increase to the levy rate and indicated their preference to decrease the research and development component to maintain the same overall levy rate on strawberry runners.
Following the original consultation, SAI consulted levy payers on a new proposal to decrease the research and development component and to increase the biosecurity response component so that the overall levy rate remained the same. There was a thirty-day objection period following the notification. No objections were received.
SAI also received letters of support from two bodies that are levy recipient bodies for strawberry runners – Hort Innovation and Plant Health Australia.
Details/ Operation
Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.
Other
The Regulations are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B.
The Regulations commence on 1 July 2026. The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Attachment A
Details of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026
Section 1—Name
This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations).
Section 2—Commencement
This section provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 July 2026.
Section 3—Authority
This section provides that the Regulations are made under the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 2024 (the Act).
Section 4—Schedules
This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 2024
Item [1] – Subclause 62-2(1) of Schedule 2 (table item 1, column headed “Rate of levy”, paragraph (a))
This item omits the rate of levy on strawberry runners in relation to the research and development component of $7.87 and substitutes a new rate of $7.68.
The purpose of the amendment is to decrease the research and development component of the levy on strawberry runners to facilitate the increase to the biosecurity response component made by item 2 below so that the overall levy rate on strawberry runners remains at $8.00.
Item [2] – Subclause 62-2(1) of Schedule 2 (table item 1, column headed “Rate of levy”, paragraph (c))
This item omits the rate of levy on strawberry runners in relation to the biosecurity response component of 0 cents and substitutes a new rate of 19 cents.
The purpose of the amendment is to facilitate the repayment of underwritten industry biosecurity response contributions to the Australian Government for the response to the Varroa destructor mite.
Item [3] – Subclause 62-2(2) of Schedule 2 (example 1)
This item omits “$78.70 ($7.87 x 10) + $1.30 (13 cents x 10) = $80”, and substitutes “$76.80 ($7.68 x 10) + $1.30 (13 cents x 10) + $1.90 (19 cents x 10) = $80”.
This amendment updates the figures to reflect the decreased research and development component and the increased biosecurity response component in the example.
Item [4] – Subclause 62-2(2) of Schedule 2 (example 2)
This item omits “$39.35 ($7.87 x 5) + 65 cents (13 cents x 5) = $40, and substitutes “$38.40 (7.68 x 5) + 65 cents (13 cents x 5) + 95 cents (19 cents x 5) = $40”.
This amendment updates the figures to reflect the decreased research and development component and the increased biosecurity response component in the example.
Item [5] – Subclause 62-2(2) of Schedule 2 (example 3)
This item omits “$7.87 ($7.87 x 1) + 13 cents (13 cents x 1) = $8”, and substitutes “$7.68 ($7.68 x 1) + 13 cents (13 cents x 1) + 19 cents (19 cents x 1) = $8”.
This amendment updates the figures to reflect the decreased research and development component and the increased biosecurity response component in the example.
Item [6] – Clause 62-5 of Schedule 2 (heading)
This item repeals the heading “62-5 Application provision” and substitutes a new heading “62-5 Application provisions”. It also inserts a new sub-heading “Original provisions”.
This amendment is consequential to the amendment made by item 8 below which inserts an application provision for clause 62-2 (as amended by items 1 and 2 of this Schedule).
Item [7] – Clause 62-5 of Schedule 2
This item inserts a new subclause (1) before the text “Clause 62-1”. This amendment is consequential to the amendment made by item 8 below which inserts an application provision for clause 62-2 (as amended by items 1 and 2 of this Schedule).
Item [8] – At the end of clause 62-5 of Schedule 2
This item adds a new subclause heading “Amendments made by Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026” at the end of clause 62-5 of Schedule 2.
This item also adds new “Subclause 62-5(2)” at the end of clause 62-2 of Schedule 2 to the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 2024.
The new subclause 62-5(2) provides that clause 62-2, as amended by Schedule 1 to the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026, applies in relation to strawberry runners that are purchased on or after 1 July 2026.
The purpose of this new subclause is to provide an application provision for the amendments to the research and development component and the biosecurity response component of the levy on strawberry runners as made by items 1 and 2 of this Schedule.
Attachment B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026
This legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the legislative instrument
The Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Strawberry Runners) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) amends the levy rates in relation to strawberry runners to facilitate the repayment of industry biosecurity response contributions to the Australian Government for the response to the Varroa destructor mite.
Specifically, the Regulations amend the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 2024 to:
- increase the rate of the biosecurity response component of the levy on strawberry runners from 0 cents to 19 cents; and
- decrease the rate of the research and development component of the levy on strawberry runners from $7.87 to $7.68.
The legislative instrument commences on 1 July 2026.
Human rights implications
This legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
The measures in the legislative instrument are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 as the legislative instrument does not engage any human rights issues.
The Hon. Julie Collins
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry