Wine Industry Funds

Six wine industry funds currently operate in the following South Australian wine regions:

  • Adelaide Hills
  • Langhorne Creek
  • McLaren Vale
  • Riverland
  • Barossa
  • Clare Valley

In addition, the SA Grape Growers Industry Fund has been established for the SA grape growing industry.

These Funds were established under the Primary Industry Funding Schemes Act 1998.

Who contributes to the Wine Industry Funds?

Wineries act as collection agents for contributions made by grape growers and/or winemakers. The contributions are paid into a fund that is administered by PIRSA then a payment is made by PIRSA to a body representing the fund contributors.

Depending on the Fund, contributions are payable by:

  • A grower of wine grapes.
  • A winemaker who purchases grapes from a grower.
  • A winemaker who grows their own grapes.

All SA grape growers (not including winemakers who grow grapes) are required to contribute to the SA Grape Growers Industry Fund.

Contributions: How to pay, and when

Winemakers who purchase grapes grown from any of the wine industry fund regions must forward to PIRSA:

  • the grower contribution, and
  • the winemaker contribution (if applicable).

The following fund contributions must be paid to PIRSA by 31 July:

  • Adelaide Hills Wine Industry Fund
  • Langhorne Creek Wine Industry Fund
  • McLaren Vale Wine Industry Fund
  • Riverland Wine Industry Fund.

The following fund contributions must be paid to PIRSA by 30 June:

  • Barossa Wine Industry Fund
  • Clare Wine Industry Fund
  • SA Grape Growers Fund

Download contribution forms

Information required on each contribution form includes:

  • The  name of each grower.
  • Tonnage processed.
  • Amount of contribution.
  • An email address.

Rate of contributions

The amount of contributions payable varies between the funds, and is determined by industry.

Payment methods

For grape growers: The winemaker deducts the appropriate amount from the grape grower’s payment and sends it to PIRSA.

For winemakers: The winemaker works out their contribution and sends it to PIRSA.

Contribution amounts for 2012

Region where grapes are grown


Grower Contribution
(where grapes not
grown by the winemaker)


Winemaker Contribution
(on grapes not grown by the winemaker)

Grower/Winemaker    Contribution
(where winemaker is also the grower of the grapes)

Adelaide Hills

$6.50 per tonne

$6.50 per tonne

$13.00 per tonne

Barossa

$8.00 per tonne

$7.00 per tonne

$7.00 per tonne

Clare Valley

$4.00 per tonne

N/A

Up to 500 tonnes -
$2.00 per tonne

500 to 1,000 tonnes -
$1.00 per tonne

1,000 to 3,000 tonnes -
$0.75 per tonne

In excess of 3,000 tonnes -
$0.50 per tonne

(cumulative*)

Langhorne Creek

$3.00 per tonne

$1.50 per tonne

$1.50 per tonne

McLaren Vale

$7.90 per tonne

$10.50 per tonne

$10.50 per tonne

Riverland

0.5% of amount payable to grower for delivered grapes

$0.35 per tonne

$1.35 per tonne

SA Grape Growers Fund (in addition to regional fund contributions)

$1.00 per tonne

N/A

N/A

* Winemakers who grow Clare grapes will contribute on a cumulative, sliding scale. For example, a winemaker growing 600 tonnes of Clare region grapes would pay (500 x $2.00) + (100 x $1.00) = $1,100.

Note: The Barossa and Adelaide Hills wine industry funds provide for annual increases.

Further information about the wine industry funds contributions.

Refund of contributions

Contributions are compulsory, but a contributor can request that their payment be refunded. To claim a refund, you must:

  1. complete the appropriate refund form
  2. provide documentary evidence (such as a weighbridge docket) that the contribution has been collected
  3. make the refund claim within the prescribed period.

Download refund forms

The last day for claiming a refund is as follows:

Barossa Wine Industry Fund, Clare Wine Industry Fund, SA Grape Growers Industry Fund:
31 May: 11 months from the date contributions are payable.

Adelaide Hills Wine Industry Fund, Langhorne Creek Wine Industry Fund, McLaren Vale Wine Industry Fund, Riverland Wine Industry Fund
30 June: 12 months from the date contributions are payable.

If you claim and receive a refund, you cannot receive direct benefits or services funded by payments from a wine fund for two years.

Ultimately, it is for individual winemakers and grape growers to determine whether they will contribute to a Wine Industry Fund in order to receive the benefits or services funded by payments from the Fund.

What Wine Industry Fund contributions are used for

The Funds support the following organisations in promoting and developing the regions, as outlined below.

Contact

For further information about the Wine Industry Funds contact:

Simon Treloar
Grape and Wine Group
Primary Industries and Regions SA
101 Grenfell Street
ADELAIDE SA 5001

Phone: +61 8 8226 3517
Email: simon.treloar@sa.gov.au