What the ACCC does

  • We enforce compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 across the agriculture sector, which includes the industry codes.
  • We conduct random compliance checks under these codes and investigate alleged breaches.
  • We can take court action to seek a financial penalty for a breach, or issue an infringement notice.

What the ACCC can't do

  • We don’t provide legal advice.
  • We don’t get involved in individual disputes.
  • We don’t regulate prices in the sugar, dairy, horticulture or wheat industries.

Key industry topics

Contracts

When someone buys products or services, they enter into a contract with the seller. There are laws protecting consumers and small businesses from unfair terms in standard form contracts.

Industry codes

Codes of conduct provide a set of rules or minimum standards for an industry. They cover the relationship between industry participants and their customers.

Water

The ACCC has several roles under the Water Act 2007, including enforcing the water market and the water charge rules.

Horticulture

Dairy and perishable goods

Dairy Code of Conduct

The dairy code regulates conduct between dairy farmers and milk processors. Under the code all raw milk must be bought from dairy farmers under a milk supply agreement that complies with the code.

Dairy inquiry 2016-18

The ACCC conducted an inquiry into the competitiveness, trading practices, and transparency of the Australian dairy industry.

Perishable agricultural goods inquiry 2020

In August 2020, the ACCC was directed to start a 3-month inquiry into bargaining power imbalances in supply chains for perishable agricultural products in Australia.

Bulk grains

Wheat Port Code of Conduct

The wheat port code regulates the conduct of port terminal service providers. It seeks to ensure that exporters of bulk wheat have fair and transparent access to port terminal services.

Bulk grain ports monitoring

Following a decision to reduce the level of regulation at some of Australia’s bulk grain export facilities, the ACCC committed to monitoring the effects of deregulation in the industry.

Sugar

Sugar Code of Conduct

The sugar code regulates the actions of cane growers, mill owners and some sugar marketers. It covers contracts and agreements to supply sugar cane and on-supply sugar.

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Consultative committee

Agriculture Consultative Committee

The Agriculture Consultative Committee was established by the ACCC to provide advice and information on issues affecting the agriculture sector, within the scope of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Agriculture market studies

Agricultural machinery market study 2021

The ACCC has set out to gain a better understanding of how the agricultural machinery industry operates, while focusing on key issues that have come to our attention relating to manufacturer warranties, and servicing and repairs.

Cattle and beef market study 2016-17

In 2016-17 the ACCC’s Agriculture Unit conducted a market study of the cattle and beef sector. The market study examined competition, transparency and efficiency in cattle and beef supply chains.

Wine grape market study 2018-19

In 2018-19 the ACCC’s Agriculture Unit conducted a market study of the wine grape industry. The study examined competition, contracting practices, transparency, and risk allocation in wine grape supply chains.
See more media releases

ACCC action in the agriculture sector

Rain kept water availability high across the Murray-Darling Basin

Wet conditions across the Murray-Darling Basin in 2022-23 kept water availability high, while regulated water charges varied substantially, reflecting the different tariff structures and approaches to cost recovery taken by each Basin State, the ACCC’s annual water monitoring report shows.
See media releases on the agriculture sector