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Kudos to Tim he’s just enabled one of the biggest changes to the Australian hemp landscape and globally we should all be paying attention.
This could be a game changer for both Australia and the region.
I talk to Tim about how he got the enquiry up and running and its findings and proposals including
A) A Review of the advice of early 2025 from the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board with a view to reducing or simplifying, where appropriate, the licencing obligations imposed on stakeholders in the hemp industry.
B) The committee recommends that the Australian Government, through the National Cabinet process, facilitates the recognition of state and territory licences across all jurisdictions.
C)) The committee recommends the Australian Government establish a taskforce to develop a national hemp framework to harmonise hemp regulations nationally.
See all 14 proposals detailed below
We also talk about recent developments in NSW with the state government pumping investment into processing.
Tim says, thank Cannabis party member Jeremy Buckingham. He made it happen. This puts NSW at the top of the Australian hemp reportcard with states like QLD & Vic now seriously lagging due to repeated refusals to engage with the crop.
As Tim says at the end of our conversation let’s not get too excited there’s plenty of work to be done yet but now there are allies within all the major political parties in Australia progress looks feasible.
You’ll want to know how he did it and I’d suggest any agricultural hemp player on the planet will want to enage with Tim, the relevant Australian Senators and supporters to learn how this was done and use the lessons learnt to engage their politicians.
Senate Report: Opportunities for the development of a hemp industry in Australia
Committee: Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee
Date referred: 23 July 2025
Submissions close: 12 September 2025
Report: 30 July 2026
Terms of Reference
The opportunities for the development of a hemp industry in Australia, with particular reference to:
- the potential contribution of an industrial hemp industry to;
- Australian farming systems, including compatibility with existing agricultural practices, soil health and water usage/conservation,
- Australian manufacturing, including the production of textiles, bio-based plastics, health and food products,
- the circular economy, including biodegradable materials and waste reduction,
- the Australian construction industry, including the use of hemp-based materials and barriers to their adoption, and
- Australia’s economy, including, but not limited to, job creation, export opportunities and regional development;
- research and development required to harness the full potential of the hemp industry;
- regulations related to hemp production, sale and distribution to domestic and export markets; and
- any other related matters.
Committee Secretariat contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: +61 2 6277 3511
rrat.sen@aph.gov.au
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Rural_and_Regional_Affairs_and_Transport/Hempindustry_48
REPORT
14 Recommendations
Recommendations
Recommendation 1 The committee recommends that the Australian Government actively consider the downstream implications that would flow from introducing a Commonwealth legislative definition of industrial hemp as Cannabis sativa with less than one per cent total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Recommendation 2 The committee recommends that the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Office of Drug Control progress, as a matter of priority, its review of the advice of early 2025 from the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board with a view to reducing or simplifying, where appropriate, the licencing obligations imposed on stakeholders in the hemp industry.
Recommendation 3The committee recommends that the Australian Government task all relevant Commonwealth agencies––including the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Office of Drug Control; and Therapeutic Goods Administration––with identifying ways to reduce and simplify the regulatory burden on the hemp industry, including streamlining all aspects of licence applications and obligations between jurisdictions to reduce duplication.
Recommendation 4 The committee recommends the Australian Government amend the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1956 to exclude the requirement for an export licence for hemp food products.
Recommendation 5 The committee recommends the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority clarify the requirements and simplify the process for hemp-based products to be declared ‘excluded nutritional or digestive products’, including:
- proactively assisting producers in preparing their applications; and
- producing a clear and easy to follow guidance document.
Recommendation 6 The committee recommends that the Australian Government, through the National Cabinet process, facilitates the recognition of state and territory licences across all jurisdictions.
Recommendation 7 The committee recommends that the Department of Finance establish a process for explicitly considering hemp-based products in government procurement policies and plans.
Recommendation 8The committee recommends the Australian Government establish a taskforce to develop a national hemp framework to harmonise hemp regulations nationally.
Recommendation 9 The committee recommends that the Australian Building Codes Board develops a standard under the Building Code of Australia supporting the use of hemp-based products in construction.
Recommendation 10 The committee recommends that the Australian Government support the conducting of formal testing to establish fire ratings for hemp-based construction products.
Recommendation 11 The committee recommends that the Australian Government conduct formal measurement of the carbon carrying capacity of hemp-based construction products.
Recommendation 12 The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a taskforce to formally develop a best practices standardisation process for hemp building materials and recognise hempcrete in the National Construction Code
Recommendation 13 The committee recommends that AgriFutures Australia establish a new industrial hemp research and development plan encompassing plant breeding, processing infrastructure and other areas of the industrial hemp supply chain.
Recommendation 14 The committee recommends that all payment providers, advertisers, and online platforms review their protocols and procedures to ensure that in their interactions with the hemp industry, hemp businesses are recognised and dealt with as legitimate and legal businesses.
Tim has been farming in Tasmania for the last 20 years, in 2003 the family purchased Woodlands a 350ha farm near Deloraine in Northern Tasmania. Primarily a beef trading and dairy agistment farm they also grow potatoes and hemp.
In 2016 Tim became president of the Tasmanian Hemp Association and has since advocated for the Tasmanian hemp industry. In August 2022 after 6 years, Tim stood down as President of the THA after having overseen the development of the Association into an effective advocacy organisation for the Tasmanian hemp industry.
Tim also sits on the TFGA Meat Council, longstanding chairman of the Deloraine Landcare Group, past chairman of the Meander Valley Council NRM committee and committee member of the Meander Valley Water Users.
In 2020 Tim became the founding president of the Australian Hemp Council, a 7 member council representing each state and NT on behalf of Industrial Hemp Industry growers and processors. After 5 years in the role as AHC president and having secured the establishment of a Senate enquiry into the industry with the view to bring about legislative change in favour of the industry, on 29th March Tim resigned as president of the AHC. He is now dedicating his time on his own business pursuits
Contact Tim via his Linked In at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-schmidt-b3b13674/
Tim also works with Tassie Hemp shop
https://www.thetassiehempshop.com.au/our-story
At Woodlands farm we grow hemp. At this stage, we grow hemp for the seeds. Our hemp seeds are either dehulled to make hemp hearts or pressed to make hemp seed oil. After our hemp seeds are pressed, they can also go through a mill to make hemp flour. This is all completed within a 30 km radius from Woodlands farm.
ABC- Tim’s crop destroyed for being over the stipulated limit (2021)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-24/hemp-crop-destroyed-because-it-grew-too-potent/100091462
