For new Dairysafe Board Member Corrie Goodwin, a career spanning the full dairy supply chain has built a deep understanding of the connections between farm production, processing, regulation and markets.
Raised on a dairy farm in north-east Victoria, Corrie has spent more than 20 years working across almost every part of the dairy supply chain. Her career has taken her from working directly with farmers as a field officer to senior roles spanning milk quality, food safety, sustainability, supply chains, industry advocacy and regulation.
Alongside her executive career, Corrie has developed substantial governance experience, helping agricultural organisations and statutory authorities navigate change while keeping farmers, consumers and long-term industry sustainability firmly in view.
Corrie’s early career included helping develop one of the first on-farm HACCP-based quality assurance programs for dairy farmers, giving her an early insight into how effective systems can support farmers to meet standards while strengthening outcomes across the industry.
From there, her career broadened considerably. Corrie spent seven years with Dairy Food Safety Victoria across two separate periods, serving first as General Manager Operations and later as Chief Executive Officer. These appointments gave her deep insight into statutory food safety regulation and the intersection of public health, government and industry. Her commercial dairy career has spanned the periods before, between and after these roles, including senior positions in quality, supply chains and sustainability.
Her responsibilities have included oversight of quality systems associated with infant formula production in China, establishing grain and dairy supply chains, and leading responsible dairy and sustainability programs.
Reconnecting with primary producers
That breadth has given Corrie a practical understanding of the links between primary production and the post-farmgate industry.
“After leaving Dairy Food Safety Victoria, I deliberately chose roles that would reconnect me more directly with primary producers and the issues affecting them,” she said.
Today, that includes an executive role with United Dairyfarmers of Victoria, a directorship with Sheep Producers Australia and membership of the GippsDairy Board.
Her family connection to agriculture also remains strong, with her brother and sister continuing to farm in the area where they grew up.
Corrie’s industry leadership has extended to national dairy organisations, including serving as a director of the Australian Dairy Industry Council and Vice President of the Australian Dairy Products Federation. Her career has encompassed milk quality, animal health and welfare, biosecurity and sustainability, giving her experience across many of the issues that influence the strength and resilience of the dairy sector.
Corrie also spent six years on the Board of Victoria’s Game Management Authority, serving as Deputy Chair and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Her work with this statutory authority strengthened her capabilities in risk oversight and public sector leadership, complementing her executive background at Dairy Food Safety Victoria.
Together, these roles allow Corrie to draw on the different perspectives she has developed over more than two decades in agriculture.
Regulation that protects and enables
Corrie is conscious of the responsibility that comes with serving on the Dairysafe Board. She brings experience from commercial dairy, regulation and the governance of another statutory authority.
She believes effective regulation must protect public health and consumer confidence while being evidence-based, proportionate to risk and efficient. Removing regulatory burden that does not improve food safety is central to her approach.
“Regulation has to keep pace with innovation—in industry and in regulatory practice,” she said. “Regulators should keep looking for better ways to achieve food safety outcomes.”
Corrie already knew Dairysafe through the memorandum of understanding it held with Dairy Food Safety Victoria during her time as CEO. She also values Dairysafe’s role alongside PIRSA and SA Health in South Australia’s food regulatory system.
South Australian dairy
Corrie has also been impressed by Dairysafe’s work to recognise the importance of food safety culture in assuring performance. She sees this as a mature regulatory approach: recognising that strong systems depend on leadership, behaviour and the decisions people make every day.
While Corrie is based in Melbourne, she has long admired the commitment South Australian farmers and processors show to their dairy industry and to the provenance of its products. That commitment was part of the appeal of joining the Dairysafe Board.
“There is a strong pride in South Australian dairy and in where its products come from. I’m looking forward to hearing directly from farmers and processors, understanding the operating environment and contributing to regulation that is rigorous, practical and trusted,” she said.
