On 24 February 2026, the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport conducted a tour of northern Tasmanian hemp farms and facilities, hosted by the Tasmanian Hemp Association (THA). Pictured below-centre is Andie Lucas (X-Hemp and THA) with other Committee members at Panshanger Estate, Longford, Tasmania where the first site inspection of the Tasmanian Hemp Industry tour took place.
Committee members in attendance included Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck, Senator Josh Dolega, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Senator Tammy Tyrrell and Senator Tyron Whitten. The Committee met in the town of Longford, twenty-two kilometres from Launceston in Tasmania's north and commenced a tour which included sites around Longford, as well as nearby Carrick, Red Hills and Cressy.
At the end of July 2026, the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee released their report, Opportunities for Development of a Hemp Industry in Australia.
Summarised Recommendations from the Report
Recommendation 1—Australian Government actively consider downstream implications from introducing Commonwealth legislative definition of industrial hemp as Cannabis sativa with <1% total THC.
Recommendation 2—Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and Office of Drug Control progress its review to reduce or simplify licencing obligations imposed on stakeholders in the hemp industry.
Recommendation 3—Australian Government task all relevant agencies including Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Office of Drug Control and Therapeutic Goods Administration with identifying ways to reduce and simplify the regulatory burden on the hemp industry.
Recommendation 4—Australian Government amend Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1956 to exclude requirement for an export licence for hemp food products.
Recommendation 5—Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority clarify requirements for hemp-based products to be declared ‘excluded nutritional or digestive products’.
Recommendation 6—Australian Government, through National Cabinet process, facilitates recognition of state and territory licences across all jurisdictions.
Recommendation 7—Department of Finance establish a process for explicitly considering hemp-based products in government procurement policies and plans.
Recommendation 8—Australian Government establish a taskforce to develop a national hemp framework to harmonise hemp regulations nationally.
Recommendation 9—Australian Building Codes Board develops a standard under the Building Code of Australia supporting the use of hemp-based products in construction.
Recommendation 10—Australian Government support formal testing to establish fire ratings for hemp-based construction products.
Recommendation 11—Australian Government conduct formal measurement of the carbon carrying capacity of hemp-based construction products.
Recommendation 12—Australian Government establish a taskforce to formally develop a best practices standardisation process for hemp building materials and recognise hempcrete in the National Construction Code.
Recommendation 13—AgriFutures Australia establish a new industrial hemp research and development plan encompassing plant breeding, processing infrastructure and other areas of the industrial hemp supply chain.
Recommendation 14—All payment providers, advertisers and online platforms review their protocols and procedures to ensure that in their interactions with the hemp industry, hemp businesses are recognised and dealt with as legitimate and legal businesses.
Read the entirety of the Report here.