Primary Produce Safety (Horticulture Produce) Regulations - Supporting Information

Phase 2 public consultation on revised draft Primary Produce Safety (Horticulture Produce) Regulations 2026 is now closed.

This page provides supporting information to help producers and other stakeholders understand what is being proposed in the revised draft Regulations.

Additional information can be found on the Draft Regulations At a Glance and FAQ pages.

Fees

Note: All fee amounts are based on a fee unit of $1.96 (FY 2026/27). The value of fee units are set by the Fee Units Act 1997. All fees are subject to legislated annual increases for CPI.

Accreditation application fees

Accreditation fees for Accredited Producers (Category 1 & Category 2) and GFSI-certified businesses are provided in Schedule 1 of the Regulations:

Table 1 - Proposed fee units from Schedule 1 of draft Regulations

Category	Fee units*
Application for Accreditation	350
Application for Variation of Accreditation	250 - 300
Application for Transfer of Accreditation	300

Note: Application fees will be waived for current producers applying for accreditation within the initial 4 months after implementation of the Regulations.

Application for accreditation

(Consultation draft)

Application for Accreditiation of a Primary Producer (PDF 259Kb)

Annual fees

The fees for Accredited Producers and GFSI-certified businesses appear in Schedule 1 of the Regulations.

Note: non-fee paying groups are also included here for clarity.

Table 2 - Proposed annual fees from Schedule 1 of draft Regulations.

Category	Description	Annual Fee*
Accredited producer – Category 1	Leafy vegetables and melons producers 1-5 ha	Small category - 175 fee units
Accredited producer – Category 2	Leafy vegetables and melons producers >5 ha	Medium category - 350 fee units Large category - 750 fee units
GFSI-certified business	Leafy vegetables and melons only	Small, medium and large categories - based on cultivated area or FTE (as above)
Notification - leafy vegetables and melons (<1 ha)	Leafy vegetable and melons producers less than 1 ha.	No annual fee
Notification - berries	Any producer of berries only, regardless of producation area size or scale of business. Includes GFSI-certified businesses.	No annual fee
Home Horticulture Activity	For home use (non-commercial)	No annual fee

Transition period for the new Regulations

There will be a 12-month transition period after the new Regulations start. The transition period will focus on:

education,
helping producers comply with the changes,
recognising existing industry schemes which enable businesses to demonstrate compliance with the standards.

Tiered accreditation model

A tiered accreditation model has been developed following analysis of submissions from Phase 1 of public consultation.

Tiered accreditation in primary produce safety means a system where regulatory requirements vary based on the size or risk level of a primary production business.
Instead of applying uniform standards to all producers, a tiered system will allow lower-risk or smaller producers to meet simpler, less costly requirements.
The tiered system developed from Phase 1 feedback aims to manage potential primary produce safety while accommodating different scales of horticulture production in Tasmania.

The following categories are proposed by Biosecurity Tasmania:

Table 3 - Draft tiered accreditation model explanatory table

Category	Description	Notification Requirement	Food Safety Program	Annual Fee*	Audits	Accreditation	Other
Home horticulture activity	For home use (non-commercial)	Optional	No	No	No	No	Does not include supply of horticulture produce to a produce business, food business, at a market or by way of retail or wholesale.
Notification (Berries)	Any producer of berries only	Yes	No	No	No	No	Any production area size or scale of business. Includes GFSI-certified producers and processors
Notification (Leafy vegetables and melons)	Leafy vegetables and melon producers <1 ha	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Accredited producer - Category 1	Leafy vegetables and melon producers 1-5 ha OR <5 full-time horitculture produce handlers	N/A	Yes	Small category: 175 fee units	Yes	Yes	Small horticulture producer classification: (1-5 ha cultivated land or <5 full-time horticulture produce handlers)
Accredited producer - Category 2	Leafy vegetables and melon producers >5 ha OR 5+ FTE (full time equivalent) horticultural produce handlers	N/A	Yes	Medium category: 350 fee units Large category: 750 fee units	Yes	Yes	Medium horticulture producer classification: (5-10 ha or 5-50 FTE) Large horticulture producer classification: (>10 ha or 51+ FTE)
Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-certified business	Leafy vegetables and melons only	N/A	Yes (can be through a certified body)	Small, medium and large categories: Based on cultivated area or FTE (See above)	Yes (can be through a certified body)	Yes	No additional regulatory audits or audit fees.

Home Horticulture Activity – non-commercial purpose

No fees | No regulatory food safety audits | No accreditation required

Option to notify Biosecurity Tasmania if the producer wishes to obtain food safety advice.
Refers to berries, leafy vegetable or melon production or processing for a non-commercial purpose.
Home horticulture activity in the Regulations is defined as horticulture produce production or horticulture produce processing for a non-commercial purpose.
Home horticulture activity does not include the supply of horticulture produce to a horticulture produce business, food business, at a market or by way of retail or wholesale.

Notification Category – unaccredited producers of berries only

No fees | No regulatory food safety audits | No accreditation required

Businesses producing only berries (including GFSI certified businesses), irrespective of size or scale.
Businesses producing only berries need to comply with the Primary Production and Processing Standard 4.2.7 (Berries) and only notify the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) of business details and activities.
There is no cost associated with this category. NRE Tas has a dedicated form for berry producers to fill out and an officer will assist with providing further details.

Notification Category – unaccredited producers with less than (<) 1 ha cultivation area

Food Safety Management Statement (referred to in the Regulations as a Food Safety Program) required for leafy vegetable and melons | No fees | No regulatory food safety audits | No accreditation required

Required to notify Biosecurity Tasmania of business details and activities.
Leafy vegetables and melons producers with a cultivation area of less than 1 hectare.
Periodic inspections conducted by Biosecurity Tasmania authorised officers.

Accredited Producer: Category 1 – leafy vegetables and melons producers with 1 – 5 ha cultivated area

Food Safety Program required | Lowest category accreditation fees | Regulatory food safety audits required

Classified under the lowest level of accreditation, with associated annual fees.
Annual food safety audits to be conducted by approved third party auditors.
Producers certified under a GFSI benchmarked scheme should refer to the additional note below on GFSI-certified businesses of leafy vegetables and melons

Accredited Producer: Category 2 – leafy vegetables and melons producers with more than (>) 5 ha cultivation area

Food Safety Program required | Full accreditation fees | Regulatory food safety audits required

Full accreditation applies, with associated ongoing annual fees.
Annual food safety audits to be conducted by approved third party auditors.
Producers holding certification under a GFSI benchmarked scheme should refer to the additional note below on GFSI-certified businesses of leafy vegetables and melons.

GFSI-certified businesses of leafy vegetables and melons only

(Recognition of certification body Food Safety Program and food safety audits)

Food Safety Program required (can be through a certified body) | Full accreditation fees | Regulatory food safety audits required (can be through a certified body) | No additional regulatory audits or audit fees

Businesses must provide annual evidence of GFSI certification to the regulator.
No additional Food Safety Program is required for GFSI certified businesses; food safety programs compliant with recognised GFSI benchmarked schemes will be accepted as approved programs under the Regulations.
No additional regulatory audits are required where certification body audits are satisfactory. Audits conducted by auditors approved under International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 17065 accredited certification bodies will be recognised as regulatory food safety audits.
Exemption from an initial accreditation audit where the latest food safety audit is submitted with the application.

Guidance material

The national Implementation Working Group for Horticulture (Berries, Leafy Vegetables and Melons) has developed documents to help Australian producers to comply with the new Primary Production and Processing (PPP) standards:

Guideline Notification Template for Berries (PDF 519Kb)

Guideline Food Safety Management Statement for Leafy Vegetables (PDF 910Kb)

Guideline Food Safety Management Statement for Melons (PDF 919Kb)

Additional guides

Fresh Produce Safety Centre: Grower Guides (English, Arabic, Punjabi, Chinese, Mandarin, Vietnamese)

Safe Horticulture Australia - A guide to the primary production and processing standards for horticulture - Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Primary Production and Processing (PPP) Standards (Chapter 4) - Food Standards Australia New Zealand