The Australian Government is currently operating in caretaker mode. This website is hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. We will continue to gather stakeholder feedback during the caretaker period to inform our future advice to government following the election.
The review has now been completed.
Thank you for your feedback and engagement during the review of the Competition and Consumer (Industry Code—Port Terminal Access (Bulk Wheat)) Regulation 2014 (the Wheat Port Code). The purpose of the review was to determine:
What effect has the Wheat Port Code had?
Is the Wheat Port Code still necessary?
If it is still necessary, could the Wheat Port Code be improved?
We invited feedback from stakeholders across the wheat export supply chain, including wheat producers, exporters, port terminal service providers, and industry representative organisations.
Based on this feedback, we provided the report on the second review of the Wheat Port Code to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This report provided recommendations on the future of the Code. The Minister has agreed to publish the report and non-confidential submissions.
How you had your say
We received 19 submissions through the engagement process, including:
5 from port terminal service providers
5 from businesses/individuals involved in the wheat export supply chain
7 from grower representative organisations
1 from Grain Trade Australia
1 from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
We have published 10 submissions from participants who gave permission for their submissions to be published.
What you said
There were varying views presented on the future of the code, with no one option emerging as a clear preference.
The following list includes some of the key views from stakeholders:
Some stakeholders considered that the code, or aspects of the code, were operating as intended and should be maintained.
Many of the submissions highlighted that the code in its current form is not fit for purpose.
Some submissions indicated the code is no longer required because of changes to the industry since its introduction (these changes have created more competition among port terminal service providers).
Other submissions were of the view that regulation is still required to address concerns about the potential for misuse of market power.
What we recommended
The second review of the Wheat Port Code Report recommends that:
Grain Trade Australia work with the grain export industry to develop an industry managed code that includes:
a. A commitment to deal in Good Faith with grain exporters
b. Principles and guidelines for managing demand for port terminal services
c. A commitment to timely publication of port loading statements.
d. A commitment to publish standard terms and reference prices
e. A dispute resolution mechanism.
As soon as the industry managed code is ready, the existing Wheat Port Code be repealed or allowed to sunset.
The government should review the operation of the industry managed code within 5 years of the commencement of its operation and consider re-regulation if the industry managed code does not maintain the outcomes of Part 2 of the code.
What happens next
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is considering the recommendations of the review. To inform the Australian Government's response to the review, we are inviting feedback from stakeholders on the review’s recommendations via a separate survey.