No option to hold levy at current rate

The Dairy Poll Advisory Committee considered that a 10 per cent increase in the Dairy Service Levy at the 2012 Poll was the minimum increase necessary
to continue to fund the current essential programs and services provided by Dairy Australia and maintain a capacity to address new challenges as they emerge over the next five years.

There has not been any increase in the levy rate since 1997 while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen by more than 36 per cent since that time. The effect of inflation over the years has significantly eroded the buying power of levy funds raised.

At the last levy poll in 2007, the Committee recommended that the levy remain unchanged based largely on the unfavourable climatic and financial conditions facing industry at that time, but it acknowledged that the levy would need to be reassessed when conditions improved.

Keeping the levy at the same rate for 20 years is not sustainable. If the levy rate was left unchanged again it would compromise the delivery of Dairy Australia’s programs and services as well as severely constrain its ability to respond to emerging challenges.