Free grocery code training workshops held for Australian horticulture growers

Registrations have opened for the first round of free Australian Food and Grocery Code of Conduct training workshops, available to horticulture growers supplying major grocery retailers.

The first sessions to be delivered by Ausveg, in partnership with NextGen under the Know Your Grocery Code programme, proudly supported by the Australian government, will be held in key horticulture production regions in

New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania from late July through August. The roll-out comes just weeks after the government announced the initiation of the programme in June.

Available free of charge to fresh produce growers, the day-long workshops will assist horticulture producers in better understanding the Food and Grocery Code, their rights and protections, and how they can best utilise the Code in their negotiations with supermarkets to secure a fairer deal.

Ausveg has engaged NextGen, Australia’s leading provider of Code training, to deliver the suite of training programmes that forms part of the government’s Know Your Grocery Code programme. It follows the enactment of a strengthened, now mandatory, Food and Grocery Code last year.

“Mutually beneficial, sustainable business relationships between growers and major grocery retailers are critical to Australia’s food security, as supermarkets are where most Australians buy most of their vegetables, fruit and other horticulture products. For many growers, supermarkets are also their major customer, so the playing field needs to be level, to ensure equitable business relationships that support grower viability,” said Ausveg CEO Michael Coote.

“The updated Food and Grocery Code includes measures aimed at addressing the big retailers’ power imbalance, but these are only as effective as growers’ understanding and utilisation of them. This training will help raise grower awareness about the protections and rights they have under the Code, and AUSVEG encourages all horticulture growers to register, and make the most of these opportunities.”

The initial round of workshops will be held in:

New South Wales
Wednesday 29 July – Sydney Basin (Richmond Area)
Wednesday 12 August – Bathurst

Victoria
Wednesday 5 August – Melbourne
Friday 7 August – Shepparton
Wednesday 26 August – Werribee

Tasmania
Tuesday 25 August – Launceston
Wednesday 26 August – Devonport

Further dates and locations will be announced for Western Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Victoria.

Details about the training locations and registration information can be found on the Ausveg website, which will be updated as further workshops are confirmed.

Know Your Grocery Code programme training sessions will be delivered both online and in-person across regional and metropolitan areas from July 2026 to March 2028.