Requirements for agricultural advisers
Why are the Reef protection regulations required?
The Reef protection regulations address land-based sources of water pollution flowing to the Great Barrier Reef. This includes agricultural and industrial sources of nutrient and sediment pollution from all six Reef regions — Cape York, Wet Tropics, Burdekin, Mackay Whitsunday, Fitzroy and Burnett Mary.
Rainfall, leaching and irrigation run-off can wash nutrients and sediment from the land into waterways and coastal wetlands which flow to the Great Barrier Reef. The requirements focus on retaining nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment on-farm to minimise run-off and improve water quality.
For more information on the impacts of nutrient and sediment run-off, visit threats to the Reef.
What are the requirements for advisers?
Under the Reef protection regulations, agricultural advisers need to keep a record of any tailored advice they provide to producers or to people seeking advice on their behalf (such as farm contractors). They must ensure that their advice is not false or misleading or contrary to a standard condition in an Agricultural Environmentally Relevant Activity standard.
An agricultural adviser is any individual who provides advice for a fee or reward. Advisers may include agronomists, Queensland Government officers and other technical farm management specialists (including fertiliser sellers).
Tailored advice is advice that:
- has been provided for a fee or reward
- is about meeting the requirements in, or matters covered by, the Agricultural Environmentally Relevant Activity standard and
- is specific to a particular property and related set of circumstances.
Tailored advice does not include advice that is general in nature. Agricultural advisers are not required to keep records of advice if it is general in nature (e.g. advice that does not take into account specific needs) or advice about meeting the requirements for new or expanding cropping and horticulture.
The record must be made within five business days after providing the advice and be kept for a minimum of six years.
What does the record of advice need to include?
The record of tailored advice must include:
- the adviser’s name and Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Business Number (ABN) (if they have one)
- the name and the ACN or ABN (if they have one) of the person being given the advice; or if the person they are giving advice to is acting on behalf of another person who carries out the agricultural activity—the name and ACN or ABN (if any) of the person who carries out the activity
- the location of the land on which the activity is being carried out
- the day the advice was given
- a summary of the advice given, for example recommendations around the use of fertiliser or measures to control sediment and erosion.
If the advice is about the use of fertilisers, the summary of advice must include:
- the name, or a description, of the product
- the application rate recommended for the product
- the method of application recommended for the product
- the timing and frequency of application recommended for the product.
Can advisers be penalised?
Agricultural advisers can be penalised if they provide false or misleading tailored advice to a producer.
Frequently asked questions
For more information, advisers can download these frequently asked questions on topics such as soil testing, fertiliser application, and farm nitrogen and phosphorus budgeting.