News

The Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed on 17 December 2021 and is expected to enter into force in 2022. It is a landmark agreement, and one of the first to be finalised with the UK since Brexit. For wine, the FTA will see the elimination of import tariffs on entry into force. This …

The Australian Grape & Wine office will close for the Christmas and New Year break as of COB Thursday 23 December and will re-open Tuesday 4 January 2022. The team here at Australian Grape & Wine wishes all our members, colleagues and friends a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. 

On 31 July 2020 mandatory requirements for pregnancy warnings on labels of alcoholic beverages entered into force with a three year transition period to allow the sector time to comply. This month therefore marks the half way point with one and a half years remaining before all alcoholic beverages, including wine, will need to comply. …

Following our Trade & Market Access updates in July, August & November 2021, our hearing on the decision made by Singapore Intellectual Property Office to grant Prosecco protected status as a Geographic Indication (GI) in Singapore, occurred on 12 November 2021.  The outcome of the hearing was that the High Court Judge agreed with our …

In November we noted the new requirements for the self-registration process of manufacturing premises of food exported to China under Decree 248. The online system for self-registration has been live since 1 November 2021, however there remains some uncertainty around the scope of some of the questions being asked and how they may apply to …

On 3 November 2021 the Fair Work Commission succumbed to pressure from Union Parties to vary the piecework provisions in the Horticulture Award 2020 . The court decision granted provisional approval to amend the award so that piece workers must be paid no less than the minimum hourly rates of pay in the Horticulture Award or the Fair …

Tune in to the Australian Grape & Wine Podcast to hear from Workplace Law expert, Will Snow, Partner at Finlaysons Lawyers as he helps us navigate the various State Government Vaccination Mandate positions for grape and wine businesses around Australia. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify While the Australian Government’s policy is that receiving …

The Codex Committees develop international guidance and standards for food and wine. These are used as a reference for many countries when considering the development of new or alteration of existing standards. Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) Wine is the only major traded food commodity that is not listed in the General Standard for …

Following our previous updates in July and August 2021, Australian Grape & Wine has decided to proceed with the high court appeal to the decision provided by Singapore Intellectual Property Office on the Prosecco Consortiums application for the Protection of the Controlled Designation of Origin Prosecco to protect as a GI. Written submission from the …

WTO Dispute on Wine On 26 October 2021, Australia progressed to its second call to establish a panel under the WTO dispute. This request was accepted and the process of establishing a panel to consider the dispute will now commence.  New requirements for Registration of Overseas Producers of Imported Foods. In April 2021, China’s General …