Lodging returns and paying levies

Before you can lodge your first return and make a payment you must first register with the department to receive a unique five (5) digit LRS number. Registration is a once off process and is free of charge. To register, contact a Levies Office in your state or territory.

To confirm your LRS account number, please email your ABN and business name to levies.management@awe.gov.au or contact the Levies Office in your state or territory for assistance.

Return periods will vary between commodities. Please refer to the relevant commodity page to determine if you must lodge your return monthly, quarterly or on a half-yearly or annual basis.

Lodging your return

Levies Online is available for all commodities except those listed below:

• Dried fruits – house packaging
• Dried vine fruits
• Eggs
• Farmed prawns
• Mushrooms
• Nursery products
• Pasture seeds
• Strawberries

Amending your return online

The department now accepts online amendments for the following commodities and return periods:

• Cattle and livestock export – returns from 1 January 2021
• Cherries – returns from 1 April 2021
• Coarse grains, legumes, oilseeds and wheat – returns from 1 July 2019*
• Grape research – returns from 1 July 2018*
• Macadamia nuts – returns from 1 January 2021
• Rice – returns from 1 July 2020
• Sugar cane – returns from 1 June 2019*
• Wool – returns from 1 January 2021*

For all other commodities, or for a return that was lodged before the dates listed above, you should send a signed copy of the amended return to levies.management@awe.gov.au.

*A return which includes levy payer information can only be amended the same way that it was originally lodged.

For instructions on how to amend a return in Levies Online please refer to the Levies Online User Guides which are available on the department’s website. Alternatively, you can email levies.management@awe.gov.au or contact the Levies Office in your state or territory for assistance.

Making a payment

To make a payment to the department, please consider Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) in the first instance. If you are unable to make a payment by EFT, the department will also accept payment by cheque or money order.

Electronic Funds Transfer

Please include your LRS account number at the beginning of the EFT payment reference, followed by your business name to ensure that your payment is processed quickly and accurately.

To make your payment by EFT, please use the details provided on Levies Online under ‘My Payments’ or contact Levies at levies.management@awe.gov.au.

Cheque or Money Order

Your cheque or money order must be made out and mailed to:

Note: the department does not accept post-dated cheques.

Late payment penalties

If you pay your levy or charge late you will incur a penalty that is calculated daily at a compounding rate of 2 per cent of the unpaid amount each month, including any penalties you have already accrued until you have paid the outstanding amount in full.

For more information about late payment penalties, including penalty remissions, visit the late payment penalties page. 

Records that must be kept when you lodge a return and make a payment

If you lodge a return with the department, you must keep records that support the information you have supplied in your returns for five (5) years. A person who has lodged a return with the department may be required to provide information about that return to an authorised person under Section 23 of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 (the Act). Schedule 24 of the Act contains offence provisions for failing to provide information if requested.

More information about the type of records you must keep for each commodity can be found in the relevant commodity page. This information, however, is a guide only and it is your responsibility to remain aware of your obligations under legislation.

Contact us

If you have any questions about levies and charges, your levies account or how to lodge your return, please email levies.management@awe.gov.au