Dear NASAA Members,

For those who missed yesterday’s exciting announcement, NASAA and the Organic Development Group (ODG) are pleased to share that the National Organic Standard Bill 2024 was read into the Senate on Tuesday 19 November.

What this means

If this Bill is successful, domestic regulation of the term ‘organic’ will become a reality with the National Standard for Organic and Bio-dynamic Produce established as the mandatory domestic certification standard.

As an industry, we need the support of all members and stakeholders to raise the profile of this Bill to help get it into legislation.

This is critically important in defining the word “Organic” in Australia, levelling the playing field for local Organic operators and increasing market export opportunities by opening the door for international equivalency.

You can find more details on The Bill here

How can you help?

A.   Contact your local member:

To help ensure members of parliament understand how important this is to operators and consumers please:

  1. Write a letter urging support of the Bill to:
    1. Your local member (sample letter to use)
    2. Ag Minister Collins (sample letter to use)
    3. Assistant Ag Minister Chisolm (sample letter to use)

You can find their contact details here:

  • Local members here
  • Minister Collins here
  • Minister Chisolm here
  1. If you export, or would like to, please also write a letter to:
    1. Minister for Trade, Senator Don Farrell
    2. Assistant Minister for Trade, Senator Tim Ayres

You can find their contact details here:

  • Senator Farrell here
  • Senator Ayres here

B.   Press Releases:

You can also find other ways to help via the link below (eg. Press release template to send to your local newspaper/radio, etc)
DOWNLOAD ENGAGEMENT TOOLKIT

C.   Social Media:

Wednesday’s announcement received a large volume of media pickup and positive engagement. Please don’t hesitate to have your say or share posts from your organic industry peers. We need your help to keep this topic on the radar of decision-makers as it moves closer to being debated in the Senate.

If NASAA Organic can assistance or clarification at this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,
Damien Rankine
NASAA Organic General Manager