This bill is currently before Parliament.
Industry, agriculture & resources
Grape growers and winemakers would be covered by new industry surveys run or arranged by Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority., the national wine industry authority.
Julie Collins (Labor), the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said the sector was expected to be worth $110 billion in 2025–26. She said wine-grape purchasing needed greater transparency, including earlier binding price offers in four named growing regions. She also said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the national competition watchdog, needed better information to identify businesses covered by a proposed compulsory purchasing code. The government said access to current contact details would help improve agricultural survey data and the research based on it.
Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority. was operating under the Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority. Act 2013, while ABARESThe government’s agricultural research and economics bureau. was collecting levy and charge information under the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 2024, but the rules did not clearly support wine-industry surveys or the sharing of levy-payer contact details for critical agricultural surveys. As the wine sector faced a lacklustre vintage and continued shrinkage, the bill introduced clearer survey and information-sharing powers, privacy safeguards and penalties, supporting the proposed mandatory wine grape code due to begin on 1 January 2027.
The evidence pack contains no opposition or crossbench speeches, so it does not establish any criticism of the bill. Its parliamentary material records only Julie Collins’ introductory speech, after which debate was adjourned.
Hon Julie Collins MP introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Labor.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
37 days
Updated 07 Aug 2026.
Meaning
Grape growers and winemakers would be covered by new industry surveys run or arranged by Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority., the national wine industry authority.
Grape growers and winemakers could have industry information shared for approved purposes, including research and enforcing wine laws.
People whose confidential wine-industry information is misused would be protected by a maximum civil fine of 60 penalty units.
Wine-grape sellers would be supported by surveys and information sharing for a proposed compulsory purchasing code.
Agricultural levy and charge payers could have their contact details given to companies helping conduct government surveys.
Agricultural levy and charge payers would have privacy safeguards when their details go outside government. Companies must follow an agreement with the Commonwealth.
Agricultural industries would be covered by a corrected rule-making power for collecting levies and charges. The rules would remain open to parliamentary scrutiny.
Item 3 After paragraph 7(eb) Item 3 inserts new paragraph (ec) after paragraph 7(eb) in section 7. Proposed new paragraph 7(ec) would provide that a function of the Authority is “to conduct or arrange surveys of the grape industry or wine industry to support the operation of this Act or the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 in relation to the grape industry or wine industry”. This amendment clarifies that a function of Wine Australia is to conduct or arrange surveys of the industry, including to support the operation of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the CC Act). This will support thWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
In this Division, entrusted persons would be permitted to deal with relevant information in relation to the following matters: use or disclosure for the purposes of the Wine Act; use or disclosure for the purposes of other Acts; disclosure to a Commonwealth entity; disclosure to a court or tribunal; disclosure for the purposes of law enforcement; use or disclosure for research, policy development or data analysis; use or disclosure of statistics; use or disclosure of publicly available information; disclosure to the person to whom the information relates; use or disclosure with conseWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
Civil penalty Proposed new subsection 41AP(1) would provide that a person contravenes this subsection if: the person is, or has been, an entrusted person (paragraph 41AP(1)(a)); and the person has obtained or generated information in the course of or for the purposes of (paragraph 41AP(1)(b)): administering this Act or the regulations or monitoring compliance with this Act or the regulations (subparagraph 41AP(1)(b)(i)); or assisting another person to administer this Act or the regulations or monitor compliance with this Act or the regulations (subparagraph 41AP(1)(b)(ii)); and the inforWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
Item 3 After paragraph 7(eb) Item 3 inserts new paragraph (ec) after paragraph 7(eb) in section 7. Proposed new paragraph 7(ec) would provide that a function of the Authority is “to conduct or arrange surveys of the grape industry or wine industry to support the operation of this Act or the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 in relation to the grape industry or wine industry”. This amendment clarifies that a function of Wine Australia is to conduct or arrange surveys of the industry, including to support the operation of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the CC Act). This will support thWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
This item would allow an entrusted person who is an ABARES staff member to use and disclose relevant levy/charge information, including personal information, in the course of or for the purposes of the performance of any of ABARES’s functions or assisting another person to perform any of those functions. In particular, this item would permit ABARES to use relevant levy/charge information that is personal information and to disclose such information to third parties for the purposes of allowing agricultural surveys of levy and charge payers to be conducted. In practice, contact details for seWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
New subsection 28(5) would provide that despite subsection (3), an entrusted person must not disclose relevant levy/charge information in accordance with that subsection to a person or body other than a person or body covered by subsection 28(8) (about Commonwealth bodies) unless the requirements in subsections 28(6) (about non-disclosure) and (7) (about personal information) are met. New subsection 28(6) of the Collection Act would provide that the requirements are that: the person or body has undertaken not to use or further disclose the information except in accordance with an agreement tWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
Item 4 Subsection 59(1) This item omits “For better securing the payment of levy or charge imposed in relation to collection commodities/services, the” from the chapeau to subsection 59(1) of the Collection Act, and substitutes “The”. required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed by the rules (paragraph 59(1)(a)); or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act (paragraph 59(1)(b)). The words “for better securing the payment of levy or charge” in the chapeau to subsection 59(1) of the Collection Act limit the general rule-making power and affectWine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum
Context
Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority. was operating under the Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority. Act 2013, while ABARESThe government’s agricultural research and economics bureau. was collecting levy and charge information under the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 2024, but the rules did not clearly support wine-industry surveys or the sharing of levy-payer contact details for critical agricultural surveys. As the wine sector faced a lacklustre vintage and continued shrinkage, the bill introduced clearer survey and information-sharing powers, privacy safeguards and penalties, supporting the proposed mandatory wine grape code due to begin on 1 January 2027.
Existing laws left survey and information gaps
The Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority. Act 2013 and Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 2024 governed the two bodies but did not clearly authorise the survey and information-sharing work later identified as necessary.
Wine and Other Legislation Amendment explanatory memorandum ↗Shrinking wine sector faces a lacklustre vintage
Growers were dealing with a weak vintage alongside longer-term structural problems as the wine industry continued to shrink.
ABC News ↗Mandatory wine grape code details released
The federal government released details of a code requiring winemakers to publish payment terms, scheduled to begin on 1 January 2027.
ABC News ↗Hon Julie Collins MP introduced the bill
The bill began its parliamentary passage in the House of Representatives, seeking clearer powers for Wine AustraliaThe national wine industry authority. and ABARESThe government’s agricultural research and economics bureau. to conduct surveys and manage protected information.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Key criticism
The evidence pack contains no opposition or crossbench speeches, so it does not establish any criticism of the bill. Its parliamentary material records only Julie Collins’ introductory speech, after which debate was adjourned.
The government said privacy would be protected through existing and new safeguards, departmental controls and the Privacy Act 1988, Australia’s main federal privacy law.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Collins supports the bill as a practical way to improve wine-industry transparency and regulation, strengthen agricultural research and information sharing, and preserve appropriate privacy safeguards.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“These are practical changes. They will strengthen the ability of Wine Australia and ABARES to continue their important research work, support better decisions, and help industry keep building a strong future.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
