Agribusiness

Sowing the seed

The agriculture sector has been one of the backbones of the Australian economy for over 150 years. Sparke Helmore was founded 140 years ago in the Hunter Valley with strong connections to agribusinesses throughout regional Australia.

We have since built an established agriculture sector group, who work as one team servicing the needs of clients active in this sector, helping to achieve the best business results across all phases of the agribusiness lifecycle.

Our team has the knowledge and experience in this sector to protect and advance the interest of primary producers, regulators, operators, manufacturers, and industry groups. The services we provide include advising on the legal aspects of commercial operations, export and import controls and planning and regulatory issues of agricultural businesses as well as intergenerational transition advice and dispute resolution and code of conduct advisory and dispute resolution. 

With extensive experience across all agribusiness industries including beef, dairy, sugar, cotton, wheat, apple, chicken and strawberry industries, our team is well placed to advise in relation to:

• acquisitions and disposals
• Land Act dealings
• Water Act matters
• Business structuring and management
• Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB)
• Taxation
• Corporate governance
• Risk and liability management
• Property and leasing, including agistment and share farming agreements
• Land titling
• Intergenerational business transition and dispute resolution
• Construction and Infrastructure projects
• Intellectual property and technology
• Employment and Work, Health and Safety
• Commercial litigation and arbitration.

The team also work closely with our specialist mining & resources and water sector teams.

Our collaboration with Queensland Farmers' Federation

We recently announced our collaboration with Queensland Farmers' Federation (QFF) as their newest Corporate Partner.  This is an important step in assisting to build a strong future for Queensland agriculture.

Click here to learn more about our partnership with QFF, and our Brisbane Partner, Kylie Wilson's experience working in the agriculture sector.

Partnering with the Queensland Farmers' Federation to bring to its members a month of knowledge and insights

For the month of October 2023, we partnered with the Queensland Farmers' Federation to bring to its members a month of knowledge and insights around the key issues facing agribusiness in FY24 and beyond.  Our expert line-up covered issues including:

• Intergenerational transition of assets
• Carbon credits
• Difference between employees and contractors
• Workplace health and safety
• Industrial manslaughter
• Environmental projects — water and waste
• Unfair Contract Terms legislation
• Property issues

You can watch our first introductory video and meet our experts, here.

You can read the first article, Fair Work Bill set to make significant labour changes, authored by Jackson Inglis and Ben Keenan.

In our second article, Tim Ferrier sets out his top tips for the sale or purchase of a rural property.

The third article in the series, by Suzy Cairney, discusses unfair contract terms and what farmers need to know.

Kylie Wilson talks about not avoiding the hard questions when planning a family business transition in our fourth article.

Finally, Kylie Wilson sat down with Nicole Richter from BDO Australia and John Moor from Growmoor Biological to share their expert advice on carbon and carbon credits in Australia and how they apply to primary producers.  You can watch their informative discussion here.