Have your say on where the Australian grape and wine sector needs to focus its priorities.

In November 2022, the Boards of Australian Grape & Wine and Wine Australia collectively identified a need to lead the process of developing a One Sector Plan – to be informed by the sector, for the sector.

The One Sector Plan will be shared vision and a unifying strategy to collectively address key priorities for the wine sector from now to 2030 in response to recent challenges. The One Sector Plan will be a collective plan for the sector; it is not simply a set of targets for Wine Australia and Australian Grape & Wine, but for all our sector.

Survey now open

Read our Discussion Guide for more information on the co-design themes that are the starting point for the One Sector Plan conversations.

Workshops

As of 15 September 2023, 15 face-to-face workshops have been held across the country to identify where the Australian grape and wine sector should focus its collective efforts and resources through to 2030. The workshops have been coordinated with the assistance of state and regional wine associations. 

An online workshop will be held on Thursday 28 September and is an opportunity for producers and businesses who have not yet attended a workshop to have their say on where the Australian grape and wine sector should focus its collective efforts and resources through to 2030.

Register to attend the online workshop

Why do we need a One Sector Plan?

There have been major changes within the Australian grape and wine sector over the past few years and the impact is being felt by everyone in the community.

We have a resilient sector that is no stranger to challenges. But the perfect storm of issues we’ve encountered since 2020 is unprecedented. There's a need to work together to collectively address the issues facing everyone, rather than going it alone.

We need a single, unifying plan for the Australian grape and wine community that is strategic, responsive and ensures strong alignment, collaboration and innovation to address the challenges and opportunities at hand.

What is the timeline for this plan?

The One Sector Plan will set out the industry-wide strategic priorities out to 2030.

How will it differ from Wine Australia's Strategic Plan for 2025–30?

This will be an industry-wide plan that considers the nuances between regions and reflects the organisations’ different roles (including industry-wide advocacy and labour laws), while working together to achieve a collective vision for the greater wine sector.

The strategy will:

• include a shared statement of vision and values
• develop a structure which is right to achieve the goals and objectives for both organisations
• ensure co-design from the bottom up, and
• ensure the sector vision is supported by each organisation and reflects how they see themselves contributing most effectively.

There will be a hierarchy of responses off the back of the One Sector Plan.

Strategic priorities within Wine Australia's remit (as set out in the Wine Australia Act 2013) will be driven through our annual operating plans (AOPs) and Wine Australia's Strategic Plan for 2025–30.

What does this mean for Vision 2050?

The foundational principals of Vision 2050 remain.  However, we need to act now as a sector to create a set of goals that incorporate the changes and recent events we’ve collectively been dealing with. We need to discuss the timelines for responses and consider where more immediate responses are needed. With input costs increasing and resources constrained, we need a unified strategy that clearly identifies roles and responsibilities for each governing body in the sector and sets out a clear path forward.

Through the One Sector Plan, we will consider what is critical to prioritise from now until 2030 to get the sector back on track to achieve its vision and address real change for the challenges that we’re facing.

What does success look like?

A successful plan will involve broad representation and input from across the sector.

Australian Grape & Wine and Wine Australia are committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders and are consulting the Australian grape and wine community, with the assistance of consulting firm ACIL Allen, to create a plan that:

• reflects the collective strategic priorities of the Australian wine sector
• has clear objectives, accountabilities and timelines
• describes the key differences but points of collaboration, and
• is adaptable to the sector’s needs and operating environment.

The plan will:

• clearly outline the key challenges and opportunities
• provide strategic direction across the sector and how will we get there
• prioritise actions with clear objectives, accountabilities and timelines
• recognise the key differences and points of collaboration
• be adaptable to the sector's needs and operating environment, and
• provide clear alignment on the overall strategic intent but allows autonomy at
• a local/regional level.

The OSP will not be able to address the full breadth and diversity of local or regional interests but will provide overall strategic direction and provide an umbrella plan for alignment with state and regional plans. The OSP will not include a revised set of aspirational growth targets – these are addressed and will remain in Vision 2050. The OSP will not be a list of actions that do not align to strategic intent or problems being addressed.

What are the challenges, barriers to success?

This is a complex sector with a diverse range of stakeholders who have varying needs and interests, so the biggest challenge will be:

• bringing everyone together
• ensuring people have their say (so it's representative of the sector broadly)
• navigating divergent views, and 
• identifying the areas of common ground that we want to focus on as a sector.

Co-design themes

The One Sector Plan has six enduring themes:

1. Our people
2. Our consumers, customers and communities
3. Our product and place
4. Our environmental, social and governance (ESG)
5. Our markets
6. Our systems.

The themes were developed to cover all parts of the sector and provide a framework to identify priorities, develop initiatives and coordinate our actions across the sector. Potential initiatives are listed as a starting point for the consultation conversations.

Read more in the Discussion Guide.

Who will be consulted?

To ensure input on the One Sector Plan is representative of divergent views,  Australian Grape & Wine and Wine Australia have commissioned ACIL Allen to run a national survey and program of workshops in states, regions and online throughout 2023.

The Australian grape and wine sector has a diverse range of stakeholders, with dedicated groups representing the interests of grapegrowers and winemakers in their respective states and regions.

Consultation on the One Sector Plan will include significant input from these representative bodies, as well as state and regional grape and wine associations, winegrape growers and winemakers, research organisations and others.

How can I have my say?

ACIL Allen is working with the sector to conduct a range of consultation activities throughout 2023.

We've met with state and regional associations to discuss how we best engage with local grape and wine communities and planning is underway for a suite of state, regional and online workshops across the country.

The plan is being developed progressively in three stages:

1. Identify priorities across the sector and what is/could be done to address them (October 2023).
2. Create a draft OSP with priorities, roles, actions and governance arrangements (December 2023).
3. Work collaboratively to finalise and start implementation (March 2024).

Stage 1 involves a national survey and a series of national, state and regional workshops. The survey will act as a benchmarking tool to help us establish a baseline of priorities that you have told us are important to you, your business and your region. This feedback will help us to refine the workshop programs across the sector. 

Key questions that will be discussed at the workshops are:

• What are the key priorities we need to address?
• Which priorities are best addressed through research and innovation, marketing or policy-advocacy?
• Where are the opportunities to leverage off existing initiatives and create new ones?
• Where are points of collaboration and, where relevant, the intersection between research and innovation, marketing, regulation and advocacy.

How does this relate to Wine Australia’s Performance Review?

Wine Australia is required by the Australian Government, as a part of the Statutory Funding Agreement 2020–2030, to engage an independent organisation to undertake a comprehensive review of its performance against the Performance Principles outlined in Section 9.2 of the Statutory Funding Agreement.

The Performance Review requires extensive consultation. As such, consultation for the Performance Review and the One Sector Plan may overlap where appropriate. This will ensure that we make the best use of existing resources, make sure our customers aren’t over-consulted, and importantly, so an independent third party can collect all information.

The work of the One Sector Plan consultation and the Performance Review will be kept separate where appropriate and clear, separate Terms of Reference have been created. Wine Australia has created a risk mitigation strategy with the Australian Government to ensure a transparent, rigorous process.

Wine Australia has contracted ACIL Allen to undertake the work. No identifying customer data will be made available to Wine Australia throughout the Performance Review process, and customers will have the opportunity to remain anonymous.