How the levy system works

Statutory levies that are raised by growers are collected by the Australian Government.

The government has a Statutory Funding Agreement that it has entered into with Hort Innovation, allowing it to pass these collected levies on to Hort Innovation.

Hort Innovation then has the responsibility to work with each horticulture industry to make strategic investments in R&D and marketing programs, specific to their needs and priorities. All levy investments involve consultation with and advice from industry, delivered through industry-specific Strategic Investment Advisory Panels (SIAPs).

Once money is invested, the Australian Government contributes to the costs of R&D investments by making a contribution using public money. Investments from marketing levies do not attract the same contribution from the Australian Government.

The benefits of the investments that are made go directly back to the industry from which the levy was collected, to support increased productivity, profitability and competitiveness of the sector.

As well as statutory levies, Hort Innovation also invests voluntary levies on behalf of some horticulture industries, through a collective industry fund (CIF) process. These voluntary CIF levies are not collected by the Australian Government, but by a third party nominated by the industry. The CIF levies follow the same investment process as statutory levies, being entrusted to Hort Innovation and attracting the Australian Government contribution for R&D investments. Find out more about CIFs here.

Visit Hort Innovation's levy fund pages to learn more about the industry-specific funds through which strategic levy investments occur. These pages include details of each levy fund’s Strategic Investment Plan (SIP), which sets the roadmap for decision-making within the levy fund, as well as information on the fund’s SIAP.

Our levy funding model