Below are all the tenders that are currently open. Click on the title to expand out the section and find out more information on a tender.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is establishing a program within the Livestock Genetics research sector to build advanced research capabilities, alongside professional development. This program will be supported by the National Livestock Genetics Consortium (NLGC) and MLA, who are requesting project proposals to answer research questions from early career individuals working in livestock genetics research with the capability to undertake research, development and adoption (RD&A) activities in the Livestock Genetics sector. The aim is that alongside fostering development and capability in industry, the outcomes of the projects will be in line with the priorities of the NLGC and industry genetic progress.
This program is designed to target post-doctoral researchers, final year PhD candidates or early career individuals looking to pursue a research career, with a focus on livestock genetics R&D in the red meat industry. There will be four positions available within the program.
The primary aim of the NLGC is to increase the rate of genetic progress achieved for traits that drive value chain productivity and sustainability in the sheep and beef industries. The Terms of Reference (ToR) is based on the RD&A priorities from the NLGC, NLGC Strategy to 2030 as well as the MLA Strategic Plan 2030 and Red Meat 2030.
For further details, please see the TOR Livestock Genetics Early Researcher .
Applicants must include as part of their submission:
- application form – Early Career Researcher –Application Form
- CV
- preliminary project proposal
- two-minute video pitch.
Applications must be lodged electronically to livestockgenetics@mla.com.au
Applications close 11:59pm (AEST) 7 November 2025. Late proposals will not be accepted.
For any questions regarding this tender, please contact:
Clara Bradford
Program Manager – Livestock Genetics R&D
The Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Donor Company (MDC) is seeking expressions of interests (EOI) from publicly funded research organisation’s (PFRO) commercialisation entity who have technology prototype(s) that are ready to be considered for delivering benefits to the Australian red meat and livestock sector. Prototype(s) must be at least partially validated at a low-medium fidelity technology readiness level of 4 or greater and will be evaluated on a first-come-first-served basis against MLA investment decision criteria and priorities.
There is no maximum or minimum project size, only that all submissions are based on 60% participant and 40% MDC co-investment cash contribution. MLA is flexible on Intellectual Property (IP) ownership to best drive future commercial success and welcomes a clear adoption pathway for PFRO’s to engage with industry stakeholders in the build, test and launch stages.
For further details, please see the EOI Tech Funding guidelines.
Expression of interest must be lodged electronically using the EOI response template and emailed to commercisalisation@mla.com.au.
Applications close 5:00pm (AEST) 1 July 2026.
For any questions regarding this opportunity, please contact MLA IP team:
Rhys Pirie – E: rpirie@mla.com.au or Tom Dobbie – E: tdobbie@mla.com.au
Summary:
With the introduction of mandatory sheep eID requirements which will bring sheep and goats in line with cattle in the requirement to be tagged and recorded in the NLIS database, there is an opportunity to extract further value for the supply chain by providing better quality data up and down the chain leading to continuous improvement and better-informed decisions if successful carcase tracking systems can be integrated. MLA is seeking co-investment proposals from supply chains looking to trial and integrate carcase tracking solutions into their business. The opportunity is also open to supply chains who have made previous investments in carcase tracking and are wanting to refine to improve performance and reliability thereby enhancing end-to-end traceability and feedback for that supply chain.
Further information/details link (if applicable):
For submission details, please see the request for tender document
Application link/contact:
Please use the following application form for all submissions.
Applications must be lodged electronically as a Word document to Jack Cook jcook@mla.com.au along with other requirements of the terms of reference.
Deadline:
Applications close 5:00pm (AEST) 31 October 2025.
More information contact (if applicable):
For more information, please contact:
Jack Cook
Project Manager – Supply Chain Technology
Phone: 0409 312 515
Email: jcook@mla.com.au
As part of Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) adoption strategy MLA provides programs and activities that lead to an increase in the adoption of research and development (R&D) to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of red meat producers. The MLA adoption pathway is made up of three stepping stones: awareness activities, short-term training programs and long-term practice change activities.
As part of our awareness activities, MLA delivers events such as BeefUp and MeatUp forums. BeefUp forums are an opportunity for northern Australian beef producers to hear about the latest red meat research, development and adoption programs, while MeatUp Forums are our awareness events for southern Australia to deliver the latest information in the red meat industry for beef, sheep and goat producers.
The purpose of these expressions of interest (EOI) is to seek host locations for the BeefUp and MeatUp forums in 2026 and to gain support from regional working groups.
For more information, please see the EOI Guidelines
EOIs must be lodged through the online application form here
Applications close 5:00pm (AEST) 10 October 2025.
For any questions about this EOI, please contact:
BeefUp Forum:
Sarah Hassall
Project Manager – Northern beef adoption
MeatUp Forum:
Elizabeth Thelander
Project Manager - Profitable Grazing Systems
Pasture dieback is a condition in Qld and NSW caused by the pasture mealybug, which kills grass pastures and causes significant productivity losses to livestock producers in affected areas. A recent science forum on pasture dieback identified a range of research areas for future investment. Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from organisations (or partnerships of organisations) to co-invest and/or participate in research, development and adoption projects in the following areas identified at the forum.
- Controlling the pasture mealybug (IPM, beneficial insects, entomopathogens, endophytes, attract and kill strategies, endosymbiont disruption technologies, sterile insect technologies)
- Understanding the pasture mealybug (climatic modelling, taxonomy, satellite mapping, viruses)
- Managing the pasture mealybug (varietal development, grazing management, pasture management, managing for recovery, the fenceline effect).
Further information/details
Applicants must use the EOI submission form contained in the EOI Guidelines pack.
The EOI Submission Form must be lodged electronically to tenders@mla.com.au.
Deadline
Submissions close 5:00pm (AEST) Friday 10 October 2025.
More information:
For any questions regarding this EOI, including requests for a copy of the Proceedings of the Pasture Dieback Science Forum, please contact:
Dr Ross Mann
Project Manager – Sustainable Feedbase Resources
Dr Allan Peake
Program Manager – Sustainable Feedbase Resources
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking tenders to partner in the productivity and profitability podcast series. This will involve the delivery of 36 podcasts over 3 years, with content relevant to sheep, goat and cattle producers across southern Australia.
Further information/details link (if applicable):
The full tender is available here.
Deadline:
Applications close 12:00am (AEST) 20 October 2025.
More information
For any questions regarding this tender, please contact:
Mitchell Plumbe
Project Manager – Producer Adoption
0458 273 715
Integrity Systems Company (ISC) is seeking supply chain partners with interest in testing ideas or use cases that will drive new innovations aligned with ISC’s 2030 ambition. ISC is seeking expressions of interest from organisations (or partnerships of organisations) to co-invest, via the MLA Donor Company (MDC) funding mechanism (Appendix), in the following areas:
- driving interoperability and integration by connecting datasets to gain insights within their supply chain
- exploratory use of artificial intelligence to improve business operations and supply chain efficiency
- exploring the use of verifiable credentials to deliver whole-of-life credentials through the supply chain to determine market demands and drivers.
For application details, please see the Expression of Interest.
Expressions of interest must be lodged electronically to sthrift@integritysystems.com.au
Applications close 5:00pm (AEDT) Wednesday 15th October 2025.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking expression of interest (EOI) to co-design a producer adoption program, targeted at the Australian southern rangelands. The broad intention of this project will be to improve business productivity, profitability and sustainability. To achieve this, expressions of interest (EOI) are invited from all industry stakeholders, including but not limited to supply chains (processors/brand owners), producers, industry organisations, research bodies and advisors. By partnering with MLA there is an opportunity to expand reach and resources to maximise the impact of producer engagement activities and long-term improvement.
Application link/contact:
Deadline:
Applications close 12:00am (AEST) 20 October 2025.
More information:
For any questions regarding this EOI, or to discuss potential proposals, please contact:
Mitchell Plumbe
Project Manager – Producer Adoption
0458 273 715
Integrity Systems Company (ISC) is seeking project proposals from commercial supply chain parties who are interested in taking advantage of the end-to-end supply chain digitisation of National Vendor Declarations (NVDs).
ISC is supporting industry to fast track a transition from paper NVDs to digital consignments. As part of this initiative, MLA Donor Company (MDC) co-funding is being made available to support processors, livestock agencies, saleyards, transporters, and their software providers to shift their businesses and supply chains towards electronic National Vendor Declarations (eNVDs). This will be achieved by implementing a co-funded program of work to uplift their business systems, processes, culture and capabilities (people and technology) – which results in a shift to digital eNVDs.
For submission details, please see the request for tender form.
Applications close 5:00pm (AEDT) Friday 17 October 2025.
For any questions regarding this tender, please contact:
Gabrielle Sherring
Project Manager – Integrity Products
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) are partnering again to open call for mixed farming Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) projects.
Following the 2024 pilot success, MLA and GRDC are inviting mixed farming producers to apply for PDS projects.
Preliminary applications will open Monday 25 August 2025 for projects aimed at improving the productivity and profitability of mixed farming enterprises. Projects commencing in 2026 should align with the priorities of the MLA/GRDC partnership PDS Program across Australia’s mixed farming regions.
For more information, including the terms of reference, application forms and supporting resources, visit: MLA/GRDC Partnership – Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) projects.
Preliminary applications close 11.59pm Friday 3 October 2025.
Call for co-investment projects – MLA Donor Company
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking expressions of interest from commercial and/or research organisations (or partnerships of organisations) to co-invest via the MLA Donor Company in research, development and adoption projects for the following areas:
- Developing and validating novel strategies to prevent or mitigate Pimelea toxicity in cattle.
- Updating extension guidelines and delivering an awareness campaign to limit the impact and spread of toxic Pimelea species.
MLA applications must be lodged electronically as Word document to tenders@MLA.com.au
For further information, download the request for tender.
Download the budget spreadsheet.
Applications close 5.00pm AEST Friday 3 October 2025
No late applications will be accepted. Incomplete request for tender applications without the required documentation will not be assessed. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their applications with the Feedbase R&D Team prior to submission.
For more information, please contact:
Dr Joe Gebbels
0448 273 214
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking expressions of interest from commercial and/or research organisations (or partnerships of organisations) to co-invest via the MLA Donor Company in research, development and adoption projects for the following areas:
- Safeguarding our feedbase resources – includes the monitoring and management of soil health and land condition to improve productivity, along with protecting pastures (the feedbase) from weeds, diseases and pests.
- Future feedbase design – includes investments that raise the productivity ceiling of pastures and whole farm feedbase management, including through plant breeding and agronomy activities.
- Enhanced adoption of feedbase innovation – investing in the development of more expert advisors, demonstration sites, and information resources, to support producers in adopting innovative practices.
MLA applications must be lodged electronically as Word document to tenders@MLA.com.au
Applications close 5:00pm AEST Friday 3rd October 2025.
No late applications will be accepted. Incomplete request for tender applications without the required documentation will not be assessed. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their EOIs with the Feedbase R&D Team prior to submission.
For more information, please contact:
Further information:
Dr Joe Gebbels: (jgebbels@mla.com.au)
Dr Allan Peake: (apeake@mla.com.au)
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) are seeking partnerships to co-design a whole-of-supply-chain long-term adoption program.
We are seeking projects that employ peer-to-peer learning methods, focused on supporting producers to meet breeding objectives and market specifications while optimising productivity and profitability.
Further information can be found here.
A submission can be made by completing the MLA Preliminary Application Form.
Applications close Friday 10 October 2025.
All organisations considering submitting an expression of interest are encouraged to reach out to MLA to discuss their concept early on. Contact Will Atkinson watkinson@mla.com.au and Hilary Connors hconnors@mla.com.au for more information or to arrange a meeting.
