Tenders

The livestock export industry relies on a range of on‑board verification and assurance mechanisms to support transparency, regulatory confidence and consistent operational outcomes across voyages. Programs such as the Independent Observer (IO) program and Registered Veterinary Officer (RVO) inspections play an important role in this framework.

There is an opportunity to undertake a structured, independent analysis of how these verification systems operate in practice and how reported issues are identified and interpreted. This project will examine trends and themes emerging from IO reports over the past three years, alongside the regulatory and operational frameworks that underpin on‑board verification.

The analysis will focus on understanding the nature and root causes of issues raised, including whether they relate to regulatory interpretation, implementation in practice, or exporter assurance processes.

The project is not intended to review or amend regulatory policy, but to provide evidence‑based insights to support improved clarity, consistency and system performance. Through engagement with industry stakeholders, including exporters, regulators and assurance practitioners, the consultant will validate findings and explore opportunities to strengthen verification approaches. The project will deliver practical recommendations and identify options to support continuous improvement and informed dialogue on verification system effectiveness.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and the Goat Industry Research, Development and Adoption Committee (GIRDAC) are calling for full applications from prospective service providers to design, develop and deliver a goat-specific transport education package targeted at key stakeholders across the transport supply chain (e.g. producers, transporters, agents, saleyard/depot operators, buyers, processors etc.).

The successful project will be funded via the goat levy or hybrid (goat levies and MLA Donor Company) funding streams. For projects to be funded, they must be recommended for funding by GIRDAC prior to progressing through the MLA governance process. Find more information on the goat levy funding system here.

Tropical production systems are influenced by a range of environmental and management factors. There is an opportunity to further strengthen existing approaches by identifying, validating and deploying practical technologies and systems that can be applied at scale to support environmental comfort and management conditions for beef and dairy cattle in commercial feedlots and dairies. Solutions may draw on existing practices, innovations under development, or adaptations from other sectors, provided they demonstrate clear potential for practical use and commercial supply within destination markets. The work will involve technical validation of selected solutions in representative tropical feedlot or dairy environments, followed by demonstration and in-market engagement to support awareness and adoption.

The project will also assess operational requirements, scalability and pathways for commercial deployment in key destination markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Through collaboration with exporters, feedlot and dairy operators, technology providers and industry stakeholders, the solution provider will deliver evidence-based insights to support informed investment decisions and continuous improvement across tropical cattle production systems.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking suitable service providers to generate a multimodal resource package for producers that are tailored to best practice sheep production in the Southern Rangelands.  

The aim of this investment call is to fund investments that will develop improved grasses, legumes, plant-microbe symbioses and management packages for a range of pasture systems across southern Australian grazing systems. Activities to improve plant-microbe symbioses, seed collections and seed technology are also within scope for certain components of the investment call. 

Specifically, these projects are to be conducted in regions represented by the Southern Australia Livestock Research Council (SALRC), i.e. NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, SA, and the ACT. 

Activities are also encouraged to encompass southern WA for species that are relevant to both SALRC and Western Australia Livestock Research Council (WALRC) regions. 

This tender is a re-release of a previous investment call, with a modified MLA Donor Company investment ratio of 50/50 now allowed.