Current News

Important information about accruing paid sick and carer's leave
On 13 August 2020, the High Court of Australia handed down a decision clarifying how paid personal/carer's leave is accrued and taken under the National Employment Standards (NES). In the decision of Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v AMWU & Ors [2020] HCA 29, the High Court clarified that:

• the entitlement to 10 days of personal/carer's leave under the NES is calculated based on an employee's ordinary hours of work, not working days
• 10 days of personal/carer's leave is calculated as 1/26 of an employee's ordinary hours of work in a year.

Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website for more information

Hort update from Fair Work Ombudsman
The Fair Work Ombudsman has continued to monitor workplace compliance in the horticulture industry with inspectors assessing over 260 businesses connected with the harvesting of various crops last year and earlier this year. Click here for the full story...

Agriculture Victoria has published some additional FAQs. These are to be read in addition to the FAQs on the DHHS and Worksafe websites.

Due to COVID-19 related issues globally and the lack of incoming passenger flights, freight flights leaving from Melbourne Tullamarine Airport have been drastically reduced. This is causing the VCA concern as the season is fast approaching and the ability to export cherries is a priority for a majority of growers. Victoria in conjunction with Tasmania are responsible for the export of approximately 75% of Australian cherries so the limited flights are concerning.

The VCA committee working with CGA are actively communicating with IFAM and Government to ensure that industry concerns are met with a solution that will ensure the export of Victorian cherries.
 
We will keep our members informed of any developments as they come to hand.

The Review of Round 1 of the Water for Fodder Program is now complete. This was a requirement in the agreement between the Australian and South Australian Governments. The Review incorporated targeted stakeholder feedback, independent analysis and over 800 surveys and written submissions. The review found that a majority of survey respondents supported the Water for Fodder Program, and 84 per cent of applicants said they would apply for the program again.

However, the review also found that South Australia does not have sufficient water security for Round 2 of the program to occur immediately. It will not be until after winter and spring inflows that water availability for the 2020-21 water year will begin to emerge. We therefore expect further details about Round 2 to be announced later this year.

You can download and read the review reports here...

• New IFAM flights to East Asia- Full details can be found in the IFAM Flight Schedule Outbound and IFAM Flight Schedule Inbound.
• Cessation of Virgin Australia flights
• Qatar stands up direct flights ex Adelaide to Doha- In good news for South Australian exporters, Qatar Airways will resume flights between Adelaide and Doha from Sunday 16 August.
• IFAM still supporting flights to the Middle East- Food and agriculture exports from Australia continue to be the most important export component of trade and investment with the Middle East and North Africa region at A$3.9 billion annually (Austrade Market Profile). Through IFAM-supported flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Australian exporters can maintain access to these important markets despite the challenging COVID-19 environment.

Visit the IFAM website...

An onsite training program targeting employees with limited English language skills This program will:

• Induct vulnerable employees with limited English language skills into Covid-safe practices in your workplace
• Develop communication skills for effective and safe workplace interactions in the context of practicing Covidsafe workplace behavior's
• Build the capacity of supervising staff to effectively communicate information and instructions relating to safe working practices

Download the brochure for more information...