SWNZ Terms and Conditions

The portal to complete your declaration is available here - this is required to gain certification for the 2023 vintage/harvest. You will need to ensure it is completed by someone with appropriate authority to act on behalf of your business. Once you sign up to the Ts&Cs, they apply to your business immediately.  

For all subsequent seasons, you are required to consent to the latest version of the Ts&Cs in the declaration section of your annual questionnaire (completed in WiSE).

The following changes have been incorporated into version 2 (Nov 2022) of the Ts&Cs:

• Clause 5e (page 4) - This clause has been added to more accurately reflect NZW's position on retrospective SWNZ certification.
• Clause 7e (page 5) - This clause has been expanded to more accurately reflect current practice for access to submissions when there is a change of ownership.

The 'Contract Processing Facility - Overseas' has been removed from version 2 (Nov 2022) of the Ts&Cs.

The following changes have been incorporated into version 4 (July 2024):

• Clause 3d (page 2) - This clause has been edited to more accurately reflect the obligations for SWNZ Vineyard (Equivalence) members - e.g. No spray diary submission required, which means that spray applications are not checked for compliance with Spray Schedule requirements (spray applications are audited annually by relevant organic certifier instead). 
• Clause 4j (page 4) - This clause has been added to include information about group SWNZ audits.
• Clause 7g (page 5) - This clause has been added to include information about privacy considerations when a group is formed for SWNZ questionnaire submissions and audits.

If you are applying to certify a new vineyard, winery, bottling facility or brand with SWNZ, or if you are renewing your SWNZ membership, you must consent to these Ts&Cs. Any member that does not consent to these Ts&Cs via the online portal will not be able to gain certification for the 2022/2023 season. For all subsequent seasons, annual consent to the latest version of the Ts&Cs is required to be submitted in the declaration section of your questionnaire (completed in WiSE) for ongoing certification.

This document has been created to clarify how the SWNZ programme operates. It confirms what we expect from SWNZ members as well as what SWNZ members can expect from NZW under the programme. It is also important to demonstrate the integrity of the programme.  

All spray diaries must be submitted to SWNZ electronically either through GrapeLink or another approved electronic spray diary programme that is compatible with GrapeLink. If you are using a different electronic spray diary programme, it must integrate with GrapeLink so that your spray diary data can be automatically sent to GrapeLink for compliance processing.  

You can let us know, by emailing Meagan Littlejohn (SWNZ Programme Manager) at meagan.littlejohn@swnz.org.nz.  If the breach relates to criminal activity, then NZW may report it to the relevant regulator. There is also a misconduct process in the rules; however, corrective actions will not ordinarily follow that process.  

The Ts&Cs have been drafted to reflect that SWNZ certification/membership is attached to the property/facility (i.e., it is the winery / vineyard / bottling facility that gains SWNZ certification and is a “SWNZ Member”). While it may be challenging at times, it is important for SWNZ Members to be aware that they may be ultimately responsible for the actions and/or omissions of any employees, contactors or agents they bring onto site. This is not an unusual position (e.g., PCBU’s are responsible for the actions of others in a health and safety context). NZW encourages all SWNZ Members to think carefully about how their contracts are formulated, particularly if the Member is contracting for something that, if not done appropriately, could harm the SWNZ Member’s prospects of SWNZ certification. We note that if a breach was to occur and, following an investigation, it was apparent that the breach was the result of the actions of a contractor, that would be considered by NZW when determining what action to take against the SWNZ Member.

If you have any other questions you can contact the SWNZ Membership Support Team at membership@swnz.org.nz.