Growers to have say on WoolPoll review

Merino-fleece

The wool levy raises around $60 million to be spent on wool industry research and development, marketing and other services each year.

Woolgrowers and other key wool industry stakeholders will have the opportunity to contribute their ideas to improve the WoolPoll voting mechanism.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment today launched the WoolPoll Review and invited woolgrowers to have their say in response to a discussion paper.

WoolPoll is the three-yearly vote of all wool levy payers, conducted by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), through which the industry decides on its levy rate for investment by AWI in research and development and marketing.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is delivering a review of WoolPoll in 2020, to ensure it remains an appropriate and contemporary process that provides robust assurance about what wool levy payers want their levy rate to be.

Australia’s 60,000 wool producers contribute $4.3 billion in Australian wool exports a year.

The wool levy raises around $60 million to be spent on wool industry research and development, marketing and other services each year.

EY’s 2018 review of AWI’s performance and governance identified opportunities to improve the way WoolPoll operates, and recommended an independent assessment of the WoolPoll mechanism.

The department’s review delivers on this recommendation.

The submissions period will be open until 29 May 2020 and will be followed by targeted virtual consultation conducted by the department in May and June 2020.

The department expects to release the final report of the review later this year.

Have your say on the WoolPoll Review discussion paper here: haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/woolpoll-review.