Dairysafe has released its 2024-25 Annual Report, a year defined by strong food safety performance, organisational renewal and continued collaboration across the state’s dairy supply chain.
The report, tabled in Parliament this month, details Dairysafe’s work focused on safeguarding public health while supporting a resilient and high-performing dairy sector.
A message from Dairysafe Chair
Board Chair Roseanne Healy emphasised Dairysafe’s commitment to ensuring that national dairy food safety standards are applied consistently across the entire South Australian dairy supply chain.
“Dairysafe upholds a robust regulatory system recognised for its integrity. We pride ourselves on the quality of the regulatory service we provide to accredited business operators and our broader engagement with stakeholders and other regulators,” Roseanne said.
“Looking forward, it’s essential that Dairysafe is future-proofed, embracing digital transformation, enhancing data-driven decision-making, and embedding agility into our operations. These efforts ensure Dairysafe remains responsive, transparent, and effective in a rapidly changing regulatory and industry landscape.”
A high-performing industry
The 2024-25 report highlighted the scale and economic contribution of the dairy industry:
- 479 million litres of milk produced in 2024-25.
- $760 million in sector revenue.
- $151 million in exports.
- Average yield reaching 7,484 litres per cow, outpacing the national average.
- South Australia contributes 5.7% of national milk production.
The report also demonstrated strong dairy food safety results:
- Zero cases of foodborne illness linked to South Australian dairy products.
- No pathogens detected in processed dairy products at retail.
- No antibiotic residues found in finished dairy products.
- No critical non-conformances identified during audits.
- 280 audits completed across farms, processors and transporters.
- 25 notifiable incidents managed promptly and resolved effectively.
These outcomes reflect a strong safety culture across farms and processors, as well as Dairysafe’s leadership in applying consistent, risk-based verification and regulatory oversight across domestic and export markets.
Delivering on the strategic directions
Dairysafe continues to advance its five strategic priorities, which guide the work of the Board and operational team:
1. Leading food safety regulation: Maintaining rigorous national standards, delivering risk-based audits, and managing export regulatory responsibilities through its MOU with the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
2. Connecting the industry: Strengthening information-sharing through the Dairysafe client portal, website development and regular e-news and stakeholder communications.
3. Inspiring a food safety culture: Hosting the Dairysafe Food Safety Culture Award and supporting industry with advisory services and online training modules, including courses on managing notifiable contaminants.
4. Building industry and consumer confidence: Ensuring consistent compliance outcomes, strong incident response capability and transparent performance reporting that supports both business confidence and public trust.
5. Investing in organisational capability:Ongoing development of Dairysafe’s quality management system, technology systems, auditor development programs and internal processes to build a future-ready regulator.
Roseanne extended her thanks to the Dairysafe Board, Chief Executive, and operational team for their commitment to excellence throughout a year of transition and achievement.