Neutrog, with the support of local independent facilitation company DemocracyCo are setting up the Neutrog Community Reference Panel (the Panel) to provide ongoing feedback on how we can meet the expectations of residents and businesses in the community. The Panel will help Neutrog to continue to provide economic opportunities in the Hills, while minimising odour, dust and fire risk.
The Panel is made up of a diverse mix of approximately 10 community members including local residents, community group representatives, staff, suppliers and representatives from local government. Importantly, the panel members all have different lived experiences of Neutrog and their operations, and therefore will be vital to ensure accurate, balanced and agreed-upon feedback can be reflected to Neutrog.
Initially the panel will be focused on providing specific feedback to Neutrog on the areas of fire and air quality, with the intention to form meaningful actions for Neutrog.
Once these sessions are complete, we hope Panel members will continue to meet over the next two years to provide ongoing feedback, creating an important mechanism for transparency and sustained communication between the community and Neutrog.
The Panel will be facilitated by DemocracyCo using deliberative and co-design engagement methods which ensure constructive, respectful and productive conversations.
Research and development is an integral part of Neutrog’s commitment to be the leader in delivering the most advanced biological products in the market. Our R&D program includes world leading experts who share our innate curiosity to explore the capacity of microbes, as a means to provide sustainable, effective solutions that yield results and improve soil health.
Key Information
The first four sessions of the Panel will be held in November 2025.
Sessions will be held less regularly after this.
We anticipate a session in late November / early December 2025, and then potentially one meeting every four months until September 2027.
Panel Reports and associated documents will be available below as soon as possible after the meeting date.
Speaker videos
• Hazel Ashby, Neutrog
• Tony Aloisi, Neutrog
• Frank Regan, Mt Barker Council
Speaker Videos
This session was focused on the Panel finalising their report together. Their report from Phase 1 (all panel sessions to date) can be found below.
The Panel’s report has now been published – which marks the first phase of this process. In 2026, broad community engagement will be undertaken to enable the community to provide further input – which is described below.
The Neutrog Community Reference Panel is just the first step in understanding community needs and expectations. There will be many opportunities for the broader community to have their say early in 2026.
Over coming weeks and months we will be talking to the Panel and other community about what this looks like, however as per the CEAP at very least it will include community meeting/s and opportunities to respond via submissions and surveys. The aim will be to make it as accessible and easy for everyone who wants to get involved in the community to provide feedback.
If you are interested in sharing your views and want to hear updates on the panel’s work and outcomes, please follow the process through this website and Neutrog’s Community Portal.
The below diagram shows an overview of the Community Reference Panel and Neutrog’s Community Engagement Action Plan (CEAP) process.
The following provides more detailed information about the process: