Held every three years, WoolPoll is a voluntary vote of all wool levy payers through which the industry decides on its levy rate for investment in the research, development and marketing activities conducted on behalf of woolgrowers by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).

Anyone who has paid at least $100 in wool levies over the past three years is eligible to vote.

Chair of the independent WoolPoll 2021 Panel, Steven Bolt, a farmer based at Corrigin, Western Australia, is encouraging every eligible levy payer to have their say on the direction of the wool industry by voting in WoolPoll 2021.

"The poll is unique among Australia's agricultural sectors," Bolt said.
"Few industries have a process where producers can vote on the levy rate they believe they should be pay.

"As woolgrowers, we are empowered with the ability to determine what our industry levy rate should be. It's our wool and our industry, and now we can have our say about how much we should pay for R&D and marketing as an investment in our future."

Bolt said the Australian wool industry was emerging from a challenging period - including drought, a declining national flock and the supply-demand impact of the global pandemic - so it was important for woolgrowers to seriously consider the levy rate options to be voted upon.

"We have certainly been confronted by testing times, but we are a proud industry and I expect the resilience of our woolgrowers and their determination to ensure their future prosperity and that of their neighbours and peers will be reflected in a strong voter turnout for WoolPoll 2021," he said.

"The Voter Information Memorandum (VIM) has been sent out to all registered levy payers and is also available on the WoolPoll website, so I encourage all woolgrowers to read through that and make an informed decision about their levy rate of choice."

Growers are being given up to five options of levy rate to support, and can vote for one or more levy rates in order of preference through the independent poll. The options growers can vote on as their preferred levy rate are 0 per cent, 1 per cent, 1.5 per cent, 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent.

Voting for WoolPoll 2021 closes on Friday 5 November. For more information, call the voter helpline on 1800 990 365.

Voting can be conducted either online at www.woolpoll.com.au or via email, fax or post.