Vinehealth Australia has secured up to $1 million in investment from Wine Australia over five years to support a major upgrade of the South Australian Vinehealth Vineyard Register (the Register).
The project will commence in July 2026 and will modernise and strengthen the Register, with no additional cost to Vinehealth Australia levy payers.
The upgrade is a planned investment to ensure the Register continues to meet the future needs of South Australia’s grape and wine industry and government.
The new platform will simplify the user experience, reduce input requirements, strengthen security and improve data management, while maintaining the Register’s critical role in supporting South Australia’s biosecurity preparedness and response.
Funding from Wine Australia enables Vinehealth Australia to undertake this important work while continuing to responsibly manage levy payer funds and deliver our core biosecurity functions under the Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Register being upgraded now?
This is a planned investment in the future of the Register, not a response to a biosecurity incident.
Since the beginning of The Register, technology and the needs of industry have evolved, and this investment ensures the Register evolves with them.
What does it mean for vineyard owners?
For South Australian vineyard owners, one of the most important outcomes is less duplication, not more.
The Vinehealth Vineyard Register will remain the only Register where South Australian vineyard owners need to enter their planting data. Growers will not be required to enter the same vineyard information separately into Wine Australia’s National Vineyard Register.
What information is being shared?
No private or personally identifiable information will be shared with Wine Australia under this arrangement.
Wine Australia will receive deidentified information such as region, grape variety and area under vine. It will not receive private or personally identifiable grower information under this agreement.
The purpose is to provide a stronger understanding of vineyard plantings and wine grape supply at an industry level, while protecting the privacy of individual vineyard owners
Why does Wine Australia need South Australian data?
South Australia already has an established statutory Vineyard Register, so the sensible approach is to work together and use deidentified data from that existing system rather than creating another reporting requirement for South Australian growers.
The primary purpose of the Vinehealth Vineyard Register remains biosecurity.
Are growers paying for this?
There is no additional cost to Vinehealth Australia levy payers as a result of this upgrade.
The investment allows us to modernise a critical biosecurity asset while continuing to responsibly manage levy payer funds and deliver our core functions under the Act.
Was there something wrong with the existing Register?
No. This is about investing ahead of need and ensuring an important system remains fit for purpose into the future.
The Register has evolved over more than a century as technology and industry needs have changed. This is its next evolution – improving security, functionality, data management and the user experience while strengthening its core biosecurity capability.
Project History
2017-2025
Project name: Digital Biosecurity Platform
Project collaborators: Vinehealth Australia
Project objectives: To develop a new biosecurity IT platform to replace the existing Vineyard Register, to improve the organisation’s ability to protect vineyards from pests and diseases.
Project timeline: 2017-2023
Project description
Vinehealth Australia is building a major new biosecurity IT platform to replace the existing Vineyard Register, to improve the organisation’s ability to protect vineyards from pests and diseases.
The current Register is essential, but through innovation it could better support all parts of biosecurity management, particularly planning, response management and surveillance.
This new platform has the potential to put the wine industry in a position that will be envied by other agriculture commodities in terms of biosecurity management.
With the support of PIRSA, Vinehealth completed the consultation and value proposition phases. A technology provider was appointed in 2021.
Download
Digital Biosecurity Platform Value Proposition
Featured articles
- Digital Biosecurity Project announcement October 2020
- Barossa & Light Herald Vineyard biosecurity goes digital 12 April 2019
- 5CS Radio New biosecurity measures for wine regions 11 April 2019
- Stock Journal Funding to boost vineyard biosecurity 10 Apr 2019
- Daily Wine News Nation-leading project to boost SA vineyard biosecurity 10 April 2019
- Mirage News Nation-leading project to boost SA vineyard biosecurity 9 April 2019
