Workforce Planning and Action for the Australian Dairy Industry (2009)

Attracting, retaining and developing people is the key to the dairy industry’s future. In the farm sector alone, an estimated 31,000 people work on dairy farms, with approximately 12,000 holding a paid position. Over the past five years, 59% of dairy farms have attempted to fill a position vacancy and just over half these farms experienced difficulty finding the right person.

This project has developed a process for regional groups to better understand the current system of workforce development in their region. The project has worked in the priority area of workforce planning and action to ensure the Australian dairy industry has the people it needs.

This work was funded by the Gardiner Foundation and developed by Ruth Nettle (University of Melbourne) and Damien Oliver (Centre for Workplace Research) in conjunction with Dairy Australia. The initial work in this process was completed within the Baw Baw Shire, Gippsland.

Two Stage 1 reports are available:

• Short Report – summarises the findings and the approach developed in this project;
• Full Report – includes the extensive appendices which present the data for the Baw Baw Shire.