2025-26 Agricultural Exports Cost Recovery Implementation Statements

Charging Framework

The Australian Government Charging Framework (Charging Framework) allows government agencies to plan, implement and review their charging activities.

The Charging Framework is a cornerstone to government charging. We apply this policy to all activities that deliver goods, services or regulation, or a combination of them, to the non-government sector unless otherwise decided by government.

Under the Charging Framework, the key criteria for regulatory charging is the link between the activity and the individuals or groups that creates the demand:

• A regulatory fee is used when the activity is regulatory and its costs can be attributed to a specific individual or organisation (for example, application for a license).
• A regulatory levy is used when the activity is a regulatory and its costs can be attributed to a group of individuals or organisations being regulated by a proxy that reasonably aligns to the effort each party in the group causes (for example, compliance audits across an industry).

Fees and levies

Fees and levies (charges) are set out in the following legislative instruments:

• Export Charges (Imposition–General) Regulations 2021
• Export Charges (Imposition–Customs) Regulations 2021
• Export Control (Fees and Payments) Rules 2021

Government policy approval to cost recover

Policy authority for cost recovery of export regulatory activities was reaffirmed in the 2023-24 Mid-year Economic Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) through the Australian Government’s Securing the future of agricultural trade measure. This measure announced funding of $91.8 million over 2 years to sustain delivery of key department export trade and regulatory functions to enable departmental services continue to meet the growing demands of Australia’s agriculture and food export industries. Supplementation was continued in the 2024-25 MYEFO for an additional year.

A further $3.7 million under the measure was provided to enable development of an ongoing sustainable funding model over 3 years.

Development of this model will allow the department to be appropriately resourced through both cost recovery and appropriation funding to undertake its export regulatory activities, trade, national coordination and leadership activities.

Our fees and charges for 2025-26 

Fees and charges remain unchanged from 2024-25.

2025-26 Price fact sheet for all export arrangements

The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry certified the 2025-26 CRIS documents for 7 agricultural export arrangements.

Our CRIS describes the fees and charges to support the legislated prices for 2025-26.

2025-26 Agricultural Exports Cost Recovery Implementation Statements

Future planning

The department has established the Trade Strategy Taskforce (formally Sustainable Trade Funding Taskforce) to progress work on the development of an ongoing sustainable funding model to support agricultural trade and exports functions. This work is aimed at ensuring the department is appropriately resourced to deliver the timely and effective services necessary to enable agricultural trade and exports into the future. The Trade Strategy Taskforce is continuing to undertake its review of the funding model. Export cost recovery prices remain unchanged while this work continues.

Previous Agricultural Exports Cost Recovery Implementation Statements