Labour continues to be a core challenge for Australia’s dairy industry

Labour continues to be a core challenge for Australia’s dairy industry, exasperated by a need to service a contracting milk pool and a year-round production system. With less than one week to go to the Federal Election, labour remains a key political priority across many Australian sectors.

It’s an important reminder of the extent and value of employment within the dairy processing sector.

The Australian Dairy Products Federation (ADPF) commissioned a Deloitte Access Economic Report on the Economic and Broader Contribution of the Australian Dairy Processing Industry (2021), finding the Australian dairy processing industry contributes a total of 70,158 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs to Australian employment. Of these, 29% are direct employees within dairy processing (20,394 FTE). A further 49,764 FTE employees are supported in other parts of the Australian economy.

For every job in dairy processing, the industry supports 2.4 indirect positions in aligned industries symbiotic to milk processing, such as raw milk and other ingredients, transport, and utilities. Nearly a quarter (23%) of the dairy processing sector’s workforce was categorised as being in the two highest skilled categories of jobs.

Over half (56.5%) of Australia’s direct dairy processing workforce is in regional Australia – higher than the averages for other food processing and the broader food manufacturing sector. Notably, in Tasmania 95.9% of all direct employees are in regional areas, along with 61.6% in New South Wales and 55.5% in Victoria.

For the dairy industry, maintaining and growing a skilled workforce has become a key challenge and barrier to growth and improved performance. This issue is addressed in the ADPF strategic plan, as well as in Commitment 2 of the Australian Dairy Plan which seeks to attract and support new people and investment to build the industry.

Though the Agriculture 2030 package announced in the 2021-2022 Budget was a good start at responding to some of the recommendations of the National Agricultural Workforce Strategy, further work needs to be done. We look forward to the outcomes of the election to drive this agenda.

For further detail visit the Deloitte Economic Report here: https://adpf.org.au/industry-resources/#deloitte-economic-report