Levy

Q: What is the levy?

A: As per the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Act 1995, registered persons (being persons who are recorded in the Register established by Vinehealth Australia as owners of 0.5 hectares or more of area under vine) must contribute to the costs of Vinehealth Australia’s primary functions. Current rules and rates relating to contributions for the 2023-24 levy period are as follows:

1. A base fee of $150
2. A variable fee of $9.98 per hectare, based on the area of vines recorded in the Register as being in the ground, living or dead, and the liability is the responsibility of the land owner.
3. Pursuant to section 23(3) of the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Act 1995, the levy is collected or recovered by the Commissioner of Land Tax on behalf of the Board as if the contribution were land tax and is subject to the same penalties for delay or default in payment. The Commissioner of State Taxation has delegated its powers and functions described in Section 23(3) of the Act to the Presiding Member of the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia (trading as Vinehealth Australia).

The Minister has agreed that the base fee applicable to 2024-25 be raised to no greater than $200.  From 2025-26, the base fee will be adjusted each year by no greater than the annual indexation factor determined by the South Australian Government. The variable fee will be annually indexed from 2022-23.

Contributions payable from winemakers and distillers is currently set at $0.

Q: Who pays: the land owner or the lessee?

A: The current levy for vineyard owners based on hectares of vines planted, is a liability that pertains to the land owner as per the definitions of the Act. If a property is to be leased, it is the responsibility of the land owner to implement formal arrangements with the lessee as to payment of the levy. Vinehealth Australia can send Notice of Assessments direct to the lessee upon written authorisation of the land owner. The debt will remain in the name of the landholder. It is the responsibility of the land owner to ensure payments are made. If the fees are not paid, penalties and debt management will be directed to the land owner.

Q: What time period does the current levy for vineyard owners relate to?

A: The annual levy is applied to vineyards comprising 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines as at 30 April, and Notice of Assessments are sent to levy payers in May/June each year. Notice of Assessments are in arrears for the levy period 1 May to 30 April for the year prior.

Q: Vines are being planted on my property. What do I do?

A: As per the Act, land owners are legally required to inform Vinehealth Australia of any new vineyards planted within 3 months of planting. Communications can be emailed to admin@vinehealth.com.au

If a land owner is leasing to a third party who plants vines, it is the land owner’s responsibility to inform Vinehealth Australia. Contact details of the lessee can be added as ‘operators’ but the levy will be generated against the land owner’s name.

Q: How do you keep track of vineyards?

A: Vinehealth Australia regularly utilises aerial imagery to confirm the presence of vineyards. Mapping is updated regularly and is used by Vinehealth Australia’s GIS specialist to determine the size of vineyards. Variations to existing records are cross checked with land owners via the annual Vineyard Records which are posted to land owners each year. Notifications of removal of vines is cross checked using the most recent imagery.

Q: My vines are dead. What should I do?

A: The Act clearly states that the levy applies to vines in the ground, living or dead. Dying or dead vines can still pose a pest/disease risk and hence still incur the levy. Complete removal of the vines is required for the levy to no longer apply to a particular land parcel. Land owners must inform Vinehealth Australia within 3 months of removal of the vines. Removal times may impact on the billing period being that the levy is in arrears (for the previous year).

Q: Can I set up a payment plan?

A: Vinehealth Australia acknowledges the financial challenges faced by some growers. We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible to discuss payment options and plans. We are here to work with you. The levy is a mandatory liability and cannot be waived or refunded. To avoid debt management, growers who are experiencing financial hardship are encouraged to contact Vinehealth Australia. Annual debt management processes are to ensure outstanding debts are recovered, and thus enable Vinehealth Australia to fulfil is primary functions.

More questions? Contact us via email at admin@vinehealth.com.au or phone (08) 8273 0550.

Effective 1 May 2024

1. The Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia, trading as Vinehealth Australia, is governed by the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Act 1995 (Act).

2. According to sections 19 and 21 of the Act, vineyards of 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines (alive or dead) in South Australia must be registered with Vinehealth Australia.

   1. A person who –

      1. transfers or acquires ownership of a vineyard comprising 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines, or

      2. establishes a vineyard comprising 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines on land they own, or

      3. extends a vineyard they own so that it comprises 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines, or

      4. removes vines from a vineyard they own, so that the vineyard ceases to comprise 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines,

      must within 3 months, provide a return to Vinehealth Australia containing particulars required to be entered into the Register. A penalty and expiation penalty is applicable for non-compliance.

3. A person who changes their address or transfers ownership of any part of a vineyard must notify Vinehealth Australia in writing of the change or sale of their vineyard, and provide the name and address of the new owner within three months.

4. It is a requirement of section 23 of the Act, that Registered Persons (registered vineyard owners) are required to pay a compulsory annual contribution (levy) to Vinehealth Australia, used to defray expenses of Vinehealth Australia in the performance of its primary functions under the Act.

   1. The annual contribution is not subject to GST.

   2. Vinehealth Australia’s financial year is from 1 May to 30 April. As such, this is the contribution (billing) year.

   3. The liability for the annual levy under the Act rests with the owner of the property as at 30 April each year.

   4. The levy is charged for the prior 12 month period, being a levy in arrears.

5. According to section 23(3) of the Act, contributions payable under the Act are to be levied, collected and recovered by the Commissioner of State Taxation as if the contribution were land tax. The Commissioner of State Taxation has delegated this power and function to the Presiding Member of Vinehealth Australia.

   1. Contributions payable under the Act are subject to the same penalties for delay or default in payment as land tax.

   2. A failure to pay the Notice of Assessment by the due date, initiates a Reminder Notice being sent to the Registered Person advising that the levy payment is overdue, and if not paid within 14 days, will be subject to penalties for delay in payment.

   3. A failure to pay the Reminder Notice by the due date, initiates a Final Notice of Assessment being sent to the Registered Person. The due date stipulated in the Final Notice of Assessment is a further 18 days from the date of issue of the Reminder Notice of Assessment. A penalty tax of 5% of the annual principal levy outstanding will be applied in the Final Notice if the original Notice of Assessment is not paid by the due date, and the quantum of this 5% penalty tax meets or exceeds $20 (according to section 32 of the Taxation Administration Act 1996).

   4. A failure to pay the Final Notice by the due date, initiates a Demand Notice being sent to the Registered Person. The due date stipulated in the Demand Notice of Assessment is a further 7 days from the date of issue of the Final Notice of Assessment. A penalty tax of 25% of the annual principal levy outstanding will be applied in the Demand Notice if the original Notice of Assessment is not paid by the due date. Default on the Demand Notice may instigate referral to debt recovery.

   5. If at any time after being issued a Notice of Assessment a Registered Person contacts Vinehealth Australia indicating inability (financial or otherwise) to meet payment in full by the relevant due date, Vinehealth Australia will offer the option to the Registered Person of making payments by instalment or delaying payment until an agreed date (preferably prior to 30 April following year).

   6. Penalties applied to the annual principal levy may be waived at the discretion of Vinehealth Australia, in order to recover the principal levy outstanding.

   7. A penalty tax will not be applied to a penalty tax previously imposed, or to a levy liability that has previously had a penalty tax imposed on it.

6. The annual contribution payable is charged to each Registered Person on Vinehealth Australia’s Register, that is listed as the owner of land on which vines are planted according to SAILIS (The South Australian Integrated Land Information System).

7. The levy has two components – a base fee and a variable fee.

   1. For each Registered Person (vineyard owner), the base fee reflects the Registered Person’s contribution (regardless of vineyard size) to the base level of biosecurity risk created through ownership of a vineyard, thus generating the need for Vinehealth Australia’s services. This fee is charged to the Registered Person once annually, and covers new registration, maintenance of registration of the Registered Person’s vineyards on the Register, and management of contributions payable. The underlying principle of this base fee is around shared responsibility, in that the decisions the Registered Person makes on their vineyard in relation to biosecurity not only impact the Registered Person’s vines, but effect the Registered Peron’s neighbours, wine region and the State.

   2. For each registered Person, the variable fee reflects the relationship between the area undervine and potential risk creation. This generates income to enable Vinehealth Australia to deliver its regulatory activities, including 10 primary functions. The variable fee is charged to the Registered Person per hectare of vines owned on the Register at 30 April each year. The variable fee applies to vines planted in the ground, whether living or dead, commercial or non-commercial, productive or non-productive, healthy or diseased.

8. Both the base fee and variable fee are required to be gazetted in The South Australian Government Gazette each year, and be in accordance with the rules approved by the Minister for Primary Industries and Regions, also published in the Gazette.

   1. Increases to the base fee have been gazetted up to an including for the 2024/25 contribution year.

   2. From the 2025/26 contribution year onwards, the base fee gazetted for the prior contribution year will be adjusted each year by no greater than the annual indexation factor determined by the South Australian government and notified to the Board by the Minister in that contribution year.

   3. From the 2022/23 contribution year onwards, the variable fee gazetted for the prior contribution year will be adjusted each year by no greater than the annual indexation factor determined by the South Australian government in that contribution year and notified to the Board by the Minister.

   4. Gazettal of the current year adjustments to the variable fee and base fee (when applicable) does not occur at the beginning of Vinehealth Australia’s new contribution year. The annual indexation factor determined by the South Australian government must first be advised, and this is communicated by the South Australian government in late June each year. The Vinehealth Australia Board must then meet to pass a resolution on the level of indexation that will be applied for that contribution year. A gazettal notice is then prepared and submitted for publishing. The timing of this gazettal notice impacts the quantum of the variable and base fees applied during the property settlement process, as only those rates gazetted at the date of settlement are charged. New gazetted rates are published on the Vinehealth Australia website.

9. The levy invoice sent to each Registered Person itemises each vineyard owned and the period of the contribution year for which the vineyard has been owned. The levy invoice also includes the applicable variable fee for each vineyard and the base fee applicable to the annual ownership.

10. For an existing Registered Person at the end of the contribution year, levies are raised on 30 April for the period of 1 May to 30 April. Levy calculations are based on the gazetted base fee for that contribution year, plus the gazetted variable fee for that contribution year applied per hectare of vines in the ground as at 30 April.

11. Fees are applicable during a property settlement for the vendor (seller).

    1. The variable fee is pro-rated from 1 May to the settlement date against the vineyard area sold at settlement, and payable at settlement.

    2. The base fee is also pro-rated from 1 May to the settlement date, and payable at settlement.

       1. Where a property settlement date falls between 1 and 31 May (first month of the contribution year), and the vendor ceases to own 0.5 hectares or more of planted vines on the Register, then the base fee applicable to all or part of the period from 1 May to 31 May will be waived by Vinehealth Australia. The variable fee still applies as per 11.1.

       2. Where the vendor has other vineyards on the Register and is remaining as a Registered Person, the full base fee will be charged at the end of the contribution year and will not be included for the vendor in the Settlement Report as monies owing.

12. Fees are applicable during a property settlement for the purchaser.

    1. The variable fee is pro-rated from the settlement date to 30 April against the vineyard area to be purchased at settlement and is payable at settlement (in advance).

    2. The purchaser incurs the full base fee, which is charged at the end of the contribution year and will not be included in the Settlement Report as monies owing.

       1. Where a property settlement date falls between 1 and 30 April (last month of the contribution year), and the purchaser is a new owner not previously a Registered Person, then the base fee applicable to the purchaser for all or part of the period from 1 April to 30 April will be waived by Vinehealth Australia. The variable fee still applies as per 12.1.

13. Where a property settlement is advised to Vinehealth to occur in the year following the current contribution year –

    1. The variable fees for the vendor and purchaser (where applicable) stated on the settlement report will be those fees currently gazetted at the date the settlement report is issued. The gazetted rates stated may therefore be of the contribution year prior to that in which the settlement date falls, and potentially lower than that applicable to Registered Persons at the end of the contribution year in which the settlement is to occur.

    2. At the time of invoicing at the end of the contribution year to which the settlement occurs, Vinehealth Australia will honour the variable fees already paid at settlement. The base fee gazetted at the time of raising the invoices will, however, be that charged to the vendor if they also having remaining vineyards on the Register, and to the purchaser involved in the settlement.