Australian Organic Limited (AOL) has welcomed today’s announcement from the Australian Government that it is open to working with Australia’s organic industry and its stakeholders to explore the need for domestic regulation reform and how it might be applied in practise.
This announcement is encouraging news for the organic sector and its consumers who have been calling for action on this issue for more than two decades and is a clear indication that the Commonwealth is prepared to engage in a serious process to examine the need for domestic regulation reform for organics.
Australia’s current market lacks a clear system governing the use of the term “organic” – a gap that has long undermined industry integrity and consumer confidence.
For certified organic operators, the current system creates an uneven playing field, allowing companies to choose to label their goods as organic in Australia, without going through a certification process that verifies compliance with rigorous organic standards. This results in consumers being misled while creating a parallel trade barrier in key export markets for organic equivalency arrangements.
AOL said the next phase must now focus on identifying a practical and credible model that strengthens industry integrity, reduces greenwashing, improves consumer clarity, and better positions Australian organic businesses for long-term growth.
While AOL acknowledges that the Government did not support the 2024 National Organic Standard Bill proceeding in its current form, the process has allowed Government to clearly review the issue in detail and constructively resulted in agreement with the principles of the policy, with early work commencing between AOL and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry reviewing potential models.
AOL Chief Executive Officer Jackie Brian said the Government’s announcement today was a significant step forward for the entire industry.
“This is the clearest signal we have seen from the Federal Government in many years that it is prepared to engage with this critical issue,” Ms Brian said. “Australia’s certified organic operators have been left to compete in a domestic market where the term ‘organic’ can too easily be claimed.
“Our industry has called for opportunities to reform the current system to build consumer confidence, reward businesses doing the right thing, and enable our industry to realise its full value, both here in Australia and overseas.
“What matters now is that government, industry and other stakeholders work through this process properly and deliver a model that is practical, proportionate and fit for purpose.”
As the national peak body, AOL looks forward to working constructively with government, certifiers, operators and other stakeholders to help shape the right regulatory pathway for the sector, turning principle into policy, and policy into an effective system that supports a more productive, credible and prosperous future for Australian organics.
