Government Action

The Australian Government is putting in place new rules for the live export trade. These reforms represent significant and wide reaching changes to improve the welfare of exported Australian livestock.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry the Hon Joe Ludwig announced the reforms on 21 October 2011.

These reforms are based on the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of the live export trade by Bill Farmer AO and two Industry Government Working Group reports. The government has accepted all recommendations made by the Farmer Review and the Industry Government Working Groups.

The government has responded to the Farmer Review and the Industry Government Working Group reports. View the government response to the recommendations Word [61kb].

New supply chain assurance framework

The new supply chain assurance framework developed for the export of cattle to Indonesia in June 2011 will be adapted and applied to all markets that take Australian livestock by the end of 2012.

Under the new framework, Australian exporters seeking a permit to export feeder and/or slaughter livestock will need to show that:

animals will be handled and processed through specified supply chains in accordance with the internationally accepted requirements for animal welfare established by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) right through to the point of slaughter
they have control of the movement of animals within their supply chain
they can track or account for animals throughout the supply chain and
they have independent audits of the supply chain, both prior to export and of performance afterwards, to ensure that it complies with these new requirements.

The new framework will be phased in with 75 per cent of trade covered as of 1 March 2012, 99 per cent to be covered by the end of August 2012 and all markets covered by the end of 2012.

The government is carefully managing the transition to the new framework to avoid disruptions for trading partners and adverse impacts on our livestock producers.

The reforms have been implemented through changes to subordinate legislation (Orders) under the Export Control Act 1982 and the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.

Timeline for implementation of the new regulatory framework

Are you an exporter or livestock producer and want more information about the new framework? View the FAQs

Domestic Action

Reviewing livestock export and shipping standards

The government will complete a comprehensive review of the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) by 29 March 2013.

The Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) set the basic standards for the conduct of the livestock export trade, as required by the Australian, state and territory governments. Exporters must comply with the ASEL to be permitted by the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry to export livestock.

The ASEL covers the sourcing and on-farm preparation of livestock, land transport of livestock for export, management of livestock in registered premises, vessel preparation, loading, on-board management of livestock and the air transport of livestock. It covers cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer and camelids (camels, llama, alpacas and vicunas).

In addition to the review of the ASEL, shipping and carriage standards for livestock will be reviewed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Improving the support and assessment of AQIS-accredited veterinarians

Veterinarians who undertake pre-export preparation and/or shipboard services for livestock must be accredited by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service. These vets are known as AQIS-accredited Veterinarians (AAV).

As part of the reforms, the Australian Government will improve the support and assessment of AAV’s by:

strengthening auditing arrangements used to assess their performance
providing enhanced training and induction processes
streamlining the reporting processes the AAV’s use.

Reviewing the conditions for the export of breeder livestock

The reforms do not apply to export of livestock for breeding purposes. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry will examine the need for conditions for the export of breeder livestock, and will report to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by 31 October 2012.

Working with industry and state and territory governments

The Australian Government will work with states and territories to:

articulate respective roles
encourage them to incorporate welfare standards in legislation
and seek agreement from the states and territories to implement unique individual animal identification of all cattle, sheep and goats as soon as practical.

The Australian Government will encourage industry to implement a through-chain quality management system.

International Action

Encouraging stunning in export markets

The government takes its commitment to increasing the use of stunning in live export markets seriously. The government will not make it a mandatory requirement because it is not a requirement under the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) code. The government will encourage stunning wherever possible by:

pursuing where possible bilateral agreements which include stunning with our trading partners
supporting industry efforts to develop and implement voluntary codes of conduct that raise requirements above OIE and which include stunning
raising the inclusion of stunning in the OIE guidelines through the formal OIE process
promoting the use of stunning including work instructions and improved processes and stunning training through regional OIE forums
funding animal welfare improvements in importing countries with support from Australian industry.

Domestic and international assistance

The Australian Government is providing $5 million over two years to support exporters to deliver improved supply chains. This funding is available on a 3:1 investment ratio. See Assistance.

The Australian Government has also made an allocation of $10 million over four years from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) contingency reserve to eligible countries that import Australian livestock in order to improve animal welfare outcomes. This fund will be spread across ODA eligible nations. The details of this assistance will be settled with eligible nations.

More information

Are you an exporter or livestock producer and want more information? View the FAQs

The Independent Review of Australia’s Livestock Export Trade (the Farmer Review)

The Industry Government Working Group on Live Sheep and Goat Exports

The Industry Government Working Group of Live Cattle Exports

Read the Government’s response to the Farmer Review and the Industry Government Working Group reports