About the National Vendor Declaration and Waybill
The National Vendor Declaration (NVD) is the key tool underpinning Australia’s food safety reputation for livestock.
In this section:
Producers use the NVD/Waybill to declare valuable information about the food safety status of the livestock being sold. Buyers rely on the NVD/Waybill for accurate information on the livestock purchased and processors rely on the information to ensure only the safest food enters our food chain.
The current edition includes a simplification of existing questions, making them easier to complete, and also introduces new questions regarding stock movements.
The NVD/Waybill is underpinned by the Level 1 LPA program.
The NVD/Waybill is managed by SAFEMEAT, which is an industry and government partnership responsible for managing meat safety and hygiene issues. SAFEMEAT’s NVD Working Group consists of representatives from all industry sectors and government.
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The inclusion of animal movement information means the document can be legally used for declaring stock movements in those states that require travel documents (Waybill or Travelling Stock Statement) to accompany livestock movements. Producers selling livestock in those states* that require travel documents now have to fill out only one form instead of two.
Producers in Queensland may require more room for cattle descriptions than is provided on the LPA NVD/Waybill. An attachment sheet has been provided for download for those producers (28kb pdf).
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On 1 March 2004, the current NVD/Waybill became available.
There are different NVD/Waybills for cattle, sheep, EU cattle, and goats. They are known as:
- Edition 1 NVD (Cattle) and Waybill
- Edition 1 NVD (Sheep and lambs) and Waybill
- Edition 1 NVD (EU Cattle) and Waybill
- Edition 1 NVD (Goats) and Waybill
The LPA NVD for bobby calves is currently in development. The current NVD to be used for bobby calves is:
- Edition 1 NVD (Bobby calves)
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When you sign the NVD/Waybill you will be declaring that you meet the basic on-farm food safety requirements of the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program.
Time to upgrade - LPA provisional accreditation expires 1 March 2008
Livestock producers with a 'provisionally accredited' livestock production assurance (LPA) status will need to move to full accreditation by 1 March 2008. Click here to check your LPA status now...
If your status is provisional you will need to upgrade to full accreditation. Click here to upgrade your LPA status to full accreditation...
Important: To upgrade your status you will need your Property Identification Code (PIC), your LPA user name and password. If you don't know your login details contact lpa@mla.com.au or 1800 683 111 9am- 5pm EST.
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The NVD/Waybill focuses on keeping food safe from residues. For 30 years, Australia relied on the NVD/tail tag system to trace cattle from the point of slaughter back to the last property of residence.
However, global developments in individual animal ID, and demands for tracing back to property of birth, resulted in the introduction of a new tracing system for cattle.
The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is Australia's system for livestock identification and traceability. It is a permanent whole-of-life system that allows individual animals to be identified electronically and tracked from property of birth to slaughter, for food safety, product integrity and market access purposes. Since 2005, recording cattle movements on the NLIS database has been mandatory in Australia .
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*Travel documents are required by State Governments in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. They are optional in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. The revised NVD/Waybill is not recognised as a legal document for stock movements in the Northern Territory.
NLIS content updated 3 October 2008
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