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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act imposes a special levy (called a "contributory charge") on three types of dried fruit — currants, sultanas, and raisins — when the industry is doing particularly well in a given season. Think of it as a good-times levy: when growers and packers are earning solid profits above the cost of production, a portion of those extra earnings is clawed back into a stabilisation fund.
The charge only kicks in if both of the following conditions are met for a given season:
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Direct links to the current provisions in Dried Vine Fruits Contributory Charges Act 1964.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
If either condition isn't met, no charge applies. The Minister can formally declare this by publishing a notice in the Government Gazette (the official government publication journal).
The charge rate is calculated using a formula that essentially captures the "excess profit" above production costs, spread across all the tonnes received for packing. In plain terms: the bigger the profit margin, the higher the charge. However, there is a cap of £10 per tonne — the charge can never exceed that amount, no matter how profitable the season was.
The Minister determines the exact rate and announces it via the Gazette.
This Act is part of a broader industry stabilisation scheme for the dried vine fruits sector. By collecting a levy during good seasons, the scheme builds up funds that can be used to support the industry during bad seasons. It's an early example of a government-backed industry buffer mechanism designed to smooth out the boom-and-bust cycle in agricultural production.
A companion Act — the Dried Vine Fruits Contributory Charges (Collection) Act 1964 — handles the nuts and bolts of actually collecting the money, including a "provisional charge" collected upfront while the final figures are being worked out.