Record keeping and penalties

Record keeping

The LIP imposes obligations on every party in the supply chain to make and keep records verifying vintage, variety and GI label claims made in relation to wine goods. The LIP does not prescribe how records are to be kept, only the information that must be recorded. This gives wine manufacturers flexibility in choosing a system that best suits their needs. 

Who needs to keep records?

The LIP applies to:

• wine grape growers
• manufacturers of wine goods, including wineries, packagers and processing facilities
• persons who supply or receive wine goods (including a person who sells the wine goods by wholesale or retail or export)
• agents who take possession of wine goods.

The LIP applies to wine goods which includes grapes, wine, and grape extract used or intended to be used in manufacturing wine.

What records need to be kept

To verify label claims, everyone in the wine supply chain must keep an auditable trail of documents indicating the vintage, grape variety and GI of wine and wine goods that they grow, manufacture, supply or receive (regardless of whether they are acting as an agent).

This effectively involves recording ‘one step forward’ and ‘one step back’. Records must be maintained in a form that allows a readily auditable trail to be established.

LIP records must be kept for seven years.

What are the penalties? 

There are offences under the LIP for: 

• failing to keep sufficient records 
• knowingly making a false record, and 
• failing to verify a vintage, variety or GI claim with sufficient records. 

A maximum penalty of two years’ jail, or a fine of 120 penalty units instead of, or additional to imprisonment, applies for each offence. 

Failing to comply with the LIP could also result in export licence cancellation or suspension, or your products being withdrawn from the market. Wine Australia can prevent the export and sale of grape products if vintage, variety or GI claims cannot be substantiated by records kept under the LIP. 

For more information on how to keep records, see our templates and guides