AFSA continues to engage with state agencies in Victoria to reduce regulatory barriers to farmgate sales, and hope to see progress in state regulations which can serve as an example for other states where small-scale farmers face scale-inappropriate regulation.

In current discussions with AgVic around planning provisions, AFSA raised the many concerns and experiences that our members have communicated to us around the regulatory barriers to farmgate sales. AFSA has provided advice and proposed regulatory changes to address barriers to small-scale farmers imposed by issues such as:

•  restriction of all produce sold at farmgates to only those products produced on the property or adjacent land;
• excessive permit requirements for farmgate sales in some planning zones; and
• excessive restrictions and licensing requirements for selling packaged meat from farmgate shops, which are unnecessary when farmgates meet council registration requirements and food safety compliance standards.

We look forward to further engagement with AgVic around these issues and hope to share further updates soon.