Portfolio: Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
http://crdc.com.au/
$27M
2026-27 Budget (Budget Paper No. 4)$70M
2024-25 Total Revenue30
Headcount (2024-25)Notable downward shift in 2026-27 funding (-19.4%, $7M change). 2025-26 estimated actual $34M → 2026-27 budget $27M. Source: Budget Paper No. 4, Agency Resourcing tables.
Digital Services to Take Farmers to Markets (TFTM)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Total Budget
$322.9M
Digital Budget
$322.9M
October 2020 — June 2026
The TFTM program is transforming Australia’s agricultural export systems with the delivery of contemporary digital products and services for trade and exporter engagement. Tranche 1 established the foundations for the digital reforms by uplifting existing systems onto modern and reliable platforms and developing new digital services. Tranche 2 builds on the capabilities delivered in Tranche 1 by delivering a dynamic program of work that enables the department to be a risk-based, data-enabled regulator.
Capital Security, Technology, and Asset Refresh (CapSTAR)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Total Budget
$287.9M
Digital Budget
$201.2M
July 2024 — June 2028
The CapSTAR program aims to refresh and maintain essential property and ICT assets, reduce risk in service delivery and ensure critical business systems are supported, patched and resilient. The outcome will be a sustainable and efficient technology and physical infrastructure portfolio, through reduced technical debt and increased physical and cyber maturity.
Simplified Targeting and Enhanced Processing Systems (STEPS)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Total Budget
$144.9M
Digital Budget
$144.9M
July 2023 — June 2026
The STEPS program will transform the border process for cargo importers who depend on the department to mitigate and regulate biosecurity risk in a challenging global marketplace. At the time of preparing this report, this project is subject to the escalation protocols set out in the Assurance Framework for Digital and ICT Investments. These protocols are designed to support agencies in the timely resolution of delivery challenges.
Supporting a Stronger and More Sustainable Agriculture Sector
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Total Budget
$9.5M
Digital Budget
$9.5M
July 2023 — June 2026
This project aims to uplift the ICT, data and statistical systems’ capabilities to meet the department’s needs. This will improve the accessibility of agricultural data and information, improve and remediate survey processing systems, rebuild geospatial infrastructure, and gather requirements on future capabilities necessary to transform and enable agricultural data and information products to suit changing needs.
Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) Program
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Total Budget
$22M
Digital Budget
$11.5M
July 2025 — July 2028
The CSA Program aims to build drought resilience by enabling users to anticipate future climate conditions, compare those conditions with historical climate records, and consider potential impacts on the food and fibre products they produce. CSA provides climate projections for specific commodities at a local scale via a free online platform, ‘My Climate View’.
Knowledge Management (Dorper2)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Total Budget
$7.6M
Digital Budget
$7.6M
April 2025 — June 2028
This project aims to make the knowledge generated by the Future Drought Fund (FDF) more accessible, and promote wider adoption through a systematic and strategic approach. It will develop a knowledge management system (Dorper2) to collect and store FDF knowledge, such as program outputs and outcomes, project data and information, and contract management information.
12 tagged
Reform proposals on YourGov that name this department as a delivery partner — drawn from citizen voice, government strategy, research, international examples and gap analysis.
STRATEGY SUMMARY
Grow the sustainable future of cotton through innovation with impact. We achieve this through the allocation and management of investment in cotton RD&E. [AR p.7]
VISION
“Grow the sustainable future of cotton through innovation with impact. [CP p.7]”
PURPOSE
Grow the sustainable future of cotton through innovation with impact. We achieve this through the allocation and management of investment in cotton RD&E. [AR p.7]
Strategic priorities
· 7
Biosecurity
Climate change
Sustainability
Trade
First Nations
Workforce
Digital engagement technology
Outcomes
· 3
Paddock: productivity and profitability
Improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability by accurately monitoring and measuring every field on every cotton farm. [CP p.9]
KEY ACTIVITIES
People: central to our success
Embed collaboration in RD&E prioritisation, design, development, and adoption. [CP p.9]
KEY ACTIVITIES
Planet: our shared future
Implement resilient natural capital practices that support productivity, help maintain biodiverse ecosystems, strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, and progressively improve regional water, land and soil quality. [CP p.9]
KEY ACTIVITIES
Values
· 4
Bold
Collaborative
Future-focused
Trusted
Performance measures
· 3
| Code | Measure | Target 2025-26 | Latest result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CCE01 | Yield per hectare | Improvement is maintained at 3 per cent year on year | Yield improvement is maintained at 3 per cent year on year Annual Report 2024-25 · p.13 | Achieved |
CCE02 | The value of the systems created to address the challenges of disease, sustainable industry expansion, adaptation to climate change, biosecurity and reduced availability of inputs | CRDC’s major disease research initiative is launched and commenced | CRDC’s major disease research initiative is launched and commenced Annual Report 2024-25 · p.13 | Achieved |
CCE03 | Percentage of Australian cotton sold as more sustainable | A process for regular review of value chain needs is established and implemented | A process for regular review of value chain needs is established and implemented Annual Report 2024-25 · p.13 | Achieved |
Source documents
· 3
Ideas distilled from this entity's strategy & evidence
· 12
KPI evidence register with named owners
Create a simple register mapping each KPI to source data, owner, frequency, target, and last result.
CRDC%20Strategic%20RD%26E%20Plan%202023-28.pdf)
Outcome dashboard linking budget, delivery, and public impact
Build a public-facing outcome dashboard showing spend, outputs, outcomes, and delivery confidence.
CRDC%20Strategic%20RD%26E%20Plan%202023-28.pdf)
Procurement lessons library for repeat purchases
Capture reusable procurement clauses, market lessons, supplier performance notes, and common evaluation criteria.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Portfolio delivery office for major investments
Stand up a portfolio delivery office that tracks benefits, risks, dependencies, procurement, and delivery confidence.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Regulatory burden scan for forms, guidance, and reporting
Identify the top 10 highest-friction reporting obligations and simplify guidance, forms, or evidence requirements.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Adaptive regulation program with live feedback loops
Create an adaptive regulation model using sandboxes, industry data, risk scoring, and regular rule updates.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Recommendation tracker for audits, reviews, and inquiries
Publish a single internal tracker for audit/review recommendations, owners, due dates, and implementation evidence.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Integrated assurance and lessons-learned system
Create an assurance system that connects audit findings, risk registers, delivery reviews, and investment decisions.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Reusable briefing and summary assistant for internal documents
Create controlled templates for summarising reports, submissions, minutes, and ministerial briefs.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Department-wide knowledge and briefing platform
Build a secure knowledge platform that lets staff search, summarise, and cite approved departmental material.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Consultation feedback summaries with response tracking
Summarise consultation submissions by theme and publish what changed in response.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Always-on policy participation platform
Create a standing participation platform where citizens and stakeholders can propose, vote, and track ideas.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
KPI evidence register with named owners
Create a simple register mapping each KPI to source data, owner, frequency, target, and last result.
CRDC%20Strategic%20RD%26E%20Plan%202023-28.pdf)
Outcome dashboard linking budget, delivery, and public impact
Build a public-facing outcome dashboard showing spend, outputs, outcomes, and delivery confidence.
CRDC%20Strategic%20RD%26E%20Plan%202023-28.pdf)
Procurement lessons library for repeat purchases
Capture reusable procurement clauses, market lessons, supplier performance notes, and common evaluation criteria.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Portfolio delivery office for major investments
Stand up a portfolio delivery office that tracks benefits, risks, dependencies, procurement, and delivery confidence.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Regulatory burden scan for forms, guidance, and reporting
Identify the top 10 highest-friction reporting obligations and simplify guidance, forms, or evidence requirements.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Adaptive regulation program with live feedback loops
Create an adaptive regulation model using sandboxes, industry data, risk scoring, and regular rule updates.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Recommendation tracker for audits, reviews, and inquiries
Publish a single internal tracker for audit/review recommendations, owners, due dates, and implementation evidence.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Integrated assurance and lessons-learned system
Create an assurance system that connects audit findings, risk registers, delivery reviews, and investment decisions.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Reusable briefing and summary assistant for internal documents
Create controlled templates for summarising reports, submissions, minutes, and ministerial briefs.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Department-wide knowledge and briefing platform
Build a secure knowledge platform that lets staff search, summarise, and cite approved departmental material.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Consultation feedback summaries with response tracking
Summarise consultation submissions by theme and publish what changed in response.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Always-on policy participation platform
Create a standing participation platform where citizens and stakeholders can propose, vote, and track ideas.
CRDC%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
Bodies within the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (trading as AgriFutures Australia)
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Wine Australia
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Regional Investment Corporation
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Selection Committee
Statutory Body
Grains Research and Development Corporation Selection Committee
Statutory Body
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Selection Committee
Statutory Body
Cotton Research and Development Corporation Selection Committee
Statutory Body
Wine Australia Selection Committee
Statutory Body