Federated Farmers: Legal side of member benefits

Farming is a highly complex business requiring the same legal and administrative capabilities and resources as any other profession.

Federated Farmers has a range of contracts and agreements specifically developed to cover all the legal requirements of running a modern agricultural business.

These documents have been tried, tested and have proven their worth.

As a Federated Farmers member you can access these at preferential rates.

Prices for members generally range between $50 and $70 for most documents, whereas non-members pay the full cost, which is between $150 and $200 depending on the document. As you can see, there is a huge back-pocket benefit to being a member.

We know these documents work. Tens of thousands are used every year by members, especially the employment and dairy agreements.

Members also have a further advantage over non-members.

They have access to free legal advice on the 0800 FARMING (0800 327 646) help line.

This is a popular service provided by the Federation with over 2000 calls a month, of which about 400 callers are seeking specific assistance on employment and legal matters through direct access to our legal partners.

Buying these documents is very simple. Just call the 0800 FARMING help line and our customer service team will arrange for the documents to be posted or couriered to you.

Our field officers are also able to discuss what contracts and agreements you need for the smooth running of your farm.

WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?

Federated Farmers contracts and agreements include:

* Employment Agreements for permanent, fixed term and casual work, employment application forms, leave applications, time, wage and holiday records, workplace drug and alcohol policy and farm data security agreements.

* Occupational Safety & Health Policy and Manual with hazard and accident registers.

* Agreements for leasing, growing and contracting for land, crops and stock, the sale and purchase of stock and equipment.

* Agreements for dairy operations, 50/50 sharemilking, variable order sharemilking and contract milking.

* Other documents available include visitor access protocols, remuneration survey reports, over-dimension extension certificates, log books and diaries.

IN BRIEF

Membership with Federated Farmers is good for your farming business. It gives you access to the lobbying power of an entire industry and a team of professional policy advisors.

Major wins over the last three years include:

* $252 million for rural broadband: The Government lifted its broadband spend from $48m to $300m because of Federated Farmers lobbying.

* $70m savings on Gift Duty: An expensive impediment to farm succession scrapped after 42 years of lobbying.

* $27,000 reduced cost of the Emissions Trading Scheme per farm: Lobbying on the Emissions Trading Scheme reduced the potential impact on individual farms to $3,000 per year compared to $30,000 in the original scheme.

By calling the Federated Farmers 0800 327 646 (0800 FARMING) help line, you can make an appointment to talk to your local field officer, or make a document order.