Current News

Young Farmers Scholarships Upskill and Invest
The Upskill and Invest – Young Farmers Scholarship is an opportunity to invest in you and your career.
Up to $10,000 is available per scholarship:

• up to $5,000 towards study
• up to $5,000 to invest in putting new skills into practice, with professional development, business planning or other on-farm activities.

The scholarship program is designed to be flexible, to fit with the demands and ambitions of young farmers and farm workers.

Eligibility criteria:

• Be aged 35 years or under at the time of the application closing date
• Be working in a food and fibre farm business in Victoria at least three days per week for the past three months
• Have at least two years of total experience on-farm

Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident currently residing in Victoria.

Click here for more information or to apply

Unsure what the labour licensing scheme means for your business?

Is your business a labour provider?

Does your business use labour hire providers?

The Labour Hire Authority is delivering free information sessions for providers and hosts – come along to learn more on:

• the objectives of the Labour Hire Authority
• what the labour hire licensing scheme means for your business
• key dates and obligations.

Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner, Steve Dargavel will present at the session, and then lead a question and answer segment.

REGISTER NOW - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/information-session-labour-hire-licensing-scheme-tickets-64515239819

"Building an Export Culture"

18-19 June 2019

Peninsula Room, National Museum of Australia, Lawson Cres, Acton, Canberra

With new market access, the mainland cherry industry needs to foster an export culture to develop trade and build on the success of the 2018-19 season.  We need to build an energetic, knowledgeable and dynamic culture from the ground up to drive the development of long-term market access solutions for industry.  This involves not only the technical market access know-how of how to get a shipment from A to B, but also relationship building with customers, government and suppliers. Each market has slightly different preferences and requirements. It is the diversity of markets that will become the backbone of our industry and give us flexibility in placing product. 

As an industry, we need to be focused on quality and compliance to be successful.

At the 2019 workshop, participants will hear from experienced cherry growers/exporters, learn from the opportunities and challenges faced by other industries as well as changes to legislation and how to register for export.  All businesses involved in the cherry supply chain are encouraged to attend.

Find out more information........

Webinar: Australian fresh produce exports to South Asia

12 June 2019, 2.30-3.30pm

Join this interactive webinar to gain the latest market insights on exports of Australian fresh produce to South Asia. With a growing health consciousness amongst an expanding consumer class in South Asia there are many lucrative opportunities for Australian businesses.
 
Why attend?

• receive an update on the market and opportunities for imported fruit in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
• gain an insight into current trends in the fresh produce sector in South Asia
• hear from market experts, including a leading importer.

Speakers

Mr Tarun Arora, Director, IG International Pvt Ltd
Dr Mark Morley, Trade Commissioner – India and Pakistan, Austrade

Read more

The Fair Work Commission has announced a 3.0% increase to minimum wages following its 2019 Annual Wage Review.

The new national minimum wage will be $740.80 per week or $19.49 per hour.

The increase applies to base pay rates from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2019.

What do I need to do?

Nothing for now. We’re working on updating our pay tools with the new rates. This usually takes us around 3-4 weeks. We’ll send you an email when the updated pay rates are available.

Who does the increase apply to?

The change only applies to employees that get their pay rates from the national minimum wage, a modern award or in some cases a registered agreement.

Most employees are covered by an award. If you’re not sure which award applies to you or your employees, you can use Find my award on our website.

Find out more:

• Annual Wage Review Decision
• Annual Wage Review Summary
• Fair Work Commission – Annual Wage Review 2018 - 2019
• Privacy Policy

The second version of the Cherry Growers’ Biosecurity Manual was released this month. It provides an up to date guide for growers and their consultants and advisors to improve biosecurity on farm.

A digital version of the manual can be downloaded here and hard copies were sent to growers with the Autumn edition of Cherry magazine.