From 1 February 2026, a new, streamlined Harvest Declaration process starts.
Growers now only need to provide:

• tonnes unsold from the 2024 season (by variety)
• tonnes harvested in the 2025 season (by variety)
• tonnes retained for seed from the 2025 season (by variety)

You don’t need to submit data related to sales or grain used on farm for stockfeed, saving time and paperwork.
It means you can do your part of the paperwork sooner after harvest, while it’s fresh. Then, once you’ve finished selling, it’s easy to confirm with breeding companies that you’re ready to reconcile.
It is still important to accurately record your tonnages by variety across your operations, so that breeding company Royalty Managers can reconcile your account and determine the correct EPR invoice amount.
Ensuring you keep accurate production records is crucial to help this simplified process to work effectively.

ACB and its Members have taken on board grower and industry feedback that the previous process was onerous, slow and complicated.
We have reviewed and distilled what information is really needed to reconcile EPR payments, resulting in a significantly simplified process.
Working closely with the National Grower Register (NGR) we’ve also refined the myNGR portal, to further improve the experience as you complete your Harvest Declaration.
Our goal is to shorten the time growers need to spend on this, reduce paperwork and improve timeliness for everyone.

The new process through NGR is:

• Faster: complete your HD much sooner after harvest – no need to wait for or chase sales records
• Simpler: less paperwork with fewer details to gather and enter. Declare your harvest in just a few clicks
• Earlier: do it sooner after harvest, before next season’s sowing so you can focus on the coming year
• Smoother: updated, refined online experience on the NGR platform
• Easier: focus on keeping good tonnes-by-variety records for production accuracy, which underpins reconciliation and correct EPR invoicing.

It means you can do your part of the paperwork sooner after harvest, while it’s fresh. Then, once you’ve finished selling, it’s easy to confirm through the NGR platform that you’re ready to reconcile.

Six of Australia’s largest cereal crop breeders are participating in the launch of the simplified HD process, representing around 98% of the national winter crop production.
The participating breeders are:

• Australian Grain Technologies
• Barenbrug Australia
• InterGrain
• LongReach Plant Breeders Management
• RAGT
• Seednet

If you have a variety from a breeder not participating in the HD process, please visit the relevant breeder’s website and contact them directly.
Links to all ACB Member websites can be accessed from the Variety Central home page: varietycentral.com.au

Using the new system is simple, with full guidance and support available when you first login to the myNGR portal on the NGR website.
The screen will look a little different, but clear navigation and explanations are provided throughout the process.

You can contact NGR (phone or email) for assistance with the form or accessing myNGR.

Detailed information is available on both Variety Central  and ACB websites.
This includes checklists for the documentation you need, frequently asked questions and explanations, ‘How to’ videos and instructions and other information.
The Royalty Manager from the relevant breeding organisation can assist with variety-related questions. Their contact details can be found here.

Before you start the online process, make sure you have the following details for each variety you’ve grown:

2024 season:   Remaining unsold grain tonnes

2025 season:    Total tonnes harvested
Tonnes retained for seed

Remember, we need these amounts by variety.

When we refer to Growing Season 2025, we mean crops sown in 2025. These crops may then potentially be sold in 2025 or 2026 (or carried forward in 2027 etc).

If you grow a variety that you only use for hay production, you may also need to have grown some grain to save as seed for next year.

In this instance, you need to enter this amount in both the ‘grain’ column, and the ‘saved for seed’ column under this section.

This refers to any unsold grain from the 2024 Growing Season that you still hold when completing your Harvest Declaration.
You may have sold all your Growing Season 2025 grain, but still have some unsold from 2024’s season.
Any unsold grain from 2023 or earlier seasons must not be included.
The ‘Completed all sales’ portion relates to your 2025 Growing Season grain.

EPR is only applied and invoiced when grain is sold and delivered (contract fully executed) or used on-farm for stock feed.
If you have grain on farm from multiple past years, until you sell it, we cannot apply EPR to the grain. There is no way that anything you have retained on farm has already had the EPR applied and charged.
If you’re concerned, you can request a copy of your records or a statement from the breeding company of that variety or varieties.

By selecting ‘Yes’, you are confirming that all grain for that variety from the 2025 growing season has been sold and fully delivered to grain buyers.

This means:

• Every 2025 grain sale contract for that variety has been executed
• All contracted tonnes have been delivered
• You have no unsold 2025 grain of that variety remaining

This question applies only to grain from the 2025 growing season. It does not relate to grain from earlier seasons.

If you still have 2025 grain for a variety that is undelivered, unsold, or stored on-farm, select ‘No’.

Example:

• You sold Scepter wheat from the 2025 harvest and delivered all tonnes to the buyer → Select Yes for this variety

You sold Lancer wheat from the 2025 harvest but still have tonnes to deliver → Select No for this variety

Not necessarily. The grain buyers that provide EPR collection information are listed here.

Important notes:

• The grain must be sold to them
• Delivering grain into a storage system or warehouse does not mean the EPR was collected
• If the variety is not declared, then the EPR is not collected

Delivering against a contract may not result in EPR being collected if the delivery is considered a non-grower delivery.

These are optional fields you can complete for each variety, or on your Harvest Declaration overall.

• If you add a Variety Comment, this only goes to the respective breeder of that variety
• If you add a Harvest Declaration Comment, this goes to all Royalty Managers.

For varieties you’ve finished selling (selected ‘yes’), there’s nothing further you need to do.

• Submitting the online form lets the respective Royalty Managers know that they can commence reconciliation of your information against their records and submissions from Auto Deductors. RM’s will receive these records generally quarterly, but some are received half-yearly. Once complete, you’ll receive an invoice for the EPR owed to that company

For varieties you haven’t finished selling (selected ‘No’), there are two ways you can update information once you’ve sold.

• Edit your HD via the portal by going to eDocs, then select the record and choose Edit. This will allow you change ‘No’ to ‘Yes’ per variety. You can also edit the input amounts and answers for that variety.
• NGR will follow up with you (via SMS or email) over subsequent months to check whether you have completed all sales. You can simply respond Yes or No at that point, which NGR will use to update your HD.

Once a variety record is set to ‘Yes’ and submitted, you cannot edit any figures or change the Completed all sales response.

Yes, you can edit some things, but not all.

• All information can be edited for varieties you have said you are yet to finish selling (those marked ‘No’). This includes changing the record to confirm you have now finished selling (change ‘No’ to ‘Yes’)
• On those that you have finished selling (marked ‘Yes’) you can add or edit the Comments box, but not change any volume data

To edit your information, login to the myNGR portal, and go to the eDocs screen. From there you can find the Declaration and select Edit.

You will need to contact NGR or the relevant Royalty Manager if you need to alter information (i.e. volumes) on a variety you’ve indicated ‘Yes’ as completed all sales.

The reconciliation process can take from several months to more than a year, depending on when you sell and how often individual Auto Deductors report their data to breeding companies.
The improved HD process means you can get your part of the process off your plate more quickly after harvest, while the information is fresh. It isn’t necessarily about getting an invoice sooner – the RMs still need to wait for and obtain sales information from Auto Deductors and other traders.

Reconciling can be relatively simple.

We take your declared tonnes by variety and deduct all volume where payments have been made through either grain trader auto deductions or invoiced directly to you.

If this leaves a positive outstanding declared tonnes balance, the breeding company may contact you regarding this balance.

These are accessed in accordance with relevant Privacy legislation requirements.

The EPR is the primary way crop breeding research and development is funded for the Australian grains sector to produce new crop varieties. It can take up to 10 years to develop a new crop variety. ACB Members breed crops for local conditions, aimed at improving the adaptation, disease and yield attributes of our crops.

The EPR and levies such as the Grain Levy (GRDC) and Biosecurity Protection Levy (DAFF) are completely different things.

Each has a separate legal basis with different mechanisms:

• The Levies are / will be statutory requirements – paid to Federal Government
• The EPR relates to Plant Breeder’s Rights – paid to plant breeding companies

The Grain Levy funds RD&E activities related to agronomy, environmental challenges, pre-breeding (trait development) and policy.

Through breeding programs, the EPR supports the development and release of new varieties. It funds breeding activities that use established breeding techniques alongside innovative technologies to deliver new varieties, which can take 8-10 years.

The EPR is the primary way these activities are funded.

Yes, the EPR is payable on all production other than that which is retained for seed. This includes any volumes sold or used to feed stock.

We know it can be difficult to track your grain movements and varieties at harvest, and that rounding happens. As a rule of thumb, we look for declaration accuracy that’s within a range of +/- 5% of the actual harvest volumes.

Growers can contact the National Grower Register for assistance.

They can also contact the Royalty Manager at the relevant breeding organisation.

All these contact details, as well as the relevant EPR rate for a variety in any given year, can be found on the Variety Central website: https://varietycentral.com.au/

Most open pollinated crop varieties available to Australian grain growers are protected by Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR).

Varieties with PBR protection require permission from the PBR owner to use their protected propagating material such as germplasm. The Grower Variety License is a document that facilitates this permission.

While you may not have physically received a copy of the license when you bought seed, you can still access it here.

Growing a PBR protected variety without a license to do so is an infringement of the of PBR owner’s rights in breach of the Plant Breeder’s Right Act 1994 (Cth) (PBR Act).

Varieties have been released under the PBR Act since 1994. There is high awareness of this obligation throughout the industry.

Ultimately, EPR payment is a legal requirement, but the way it is structured means that growers and breeders share risk and reward.

Breeders can manage the genetic makeup of a variety, but not the seasonal growing environment in a particular year.

Our commitment is to develop varieties with the genetic capacity to perform given a suitable environment, acknowledging that seasonal results are determined by the interaction between a variety’s genetics and environmental conditions.

Breeders develop varieties that have the genetic capability to deliver on yield, disease tolerance and grain quality parameters in specific growing regions. We try to make our varieties as robust as possible, however, the extremes in Australia’s environment can impact a variety’s seasonal performance.

We also ensure that the EPR rate is relatively low: a cost of approximately 1% per hectare relative to crop revenue.

Globally, the Australian EPR system is one of the fairest for growers, breeders and the overall sustainability of our grains sector.

EPRs are charged on a production basis, rather than a set fee. Accordingly, the amount growers pay is relative to yield: pay less in a poor year, and if nothing harvested, nothing is paid.

By aligning EPRs to crop performance, when varieties are superior quality and high yield, both the grower and plant breeder benefit.

The EPR is paid after harvest, usually when the grain is sold or payments have been reconciled.

Almost all of the value created by higher yield varieties goes back to growers, who benefit directly from increased production.

If the EPR value capture model in Australia fails, the financial returns to plant breeders will be insufficient to develop new high yield, superior quality varieties for growers. There is currently no alternate funding model.

Australian Crop Breeders (ACB) is the peak body representing public and private field crop breeding.

ACB provides leadership for the Australian crop breeding industry through collaboration and advocacy to ensure breeding efforts are maximised for the benefit of members and the broader agricultural community.

Members are actively involved in breeding wheat, barley, canola, oats, chickpeas, field peas, lentils and lupins.

australiancropbreeders.com.au