National Livestock Identification System Compliance Measures - SOPs, Work Instructions and Educational Materials

Summary

The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is Australia's identification and traceability system for cattle, sheep and goats. It was developed to ensure that Australian livestock can be traced in cases of disease outbreak and major food safety incidents. NLIS is supported by Australia's livestock industries including producers, feed lotters, processors, exporters, agents and saleyards for the purposes of Biosecurity, Meat Safety, Product Integrity and Market Access.

The livestock export industry is worth over $800 million each year and supports the livelihood of many people in rural and regional Australia. NLIS is an important pillar in the maintenance of market assurance across the entire supply chain. The implementation of NLIS at the live export level reduces the risk of market disruption, with the key benefits being reducing the risk of disease and residue contamination through accurate animal traceability. The market assurance from the NLIS system helps to maintain demand for Australian meat products, while demonstrating our social responsibility. Effective NLIS systems also provide an assured supply of quality products by maintaining the traceability of animals along the supply chain as they move between properties, premises and facilities.

As market access for Australia's livestock export industry is becoming increasingly linked to NLIS, and livestock exporters are requesting greater functionality and use of the NLIS database and services to access markets, a high level of compliance with NLIS requirements across the sector is important.

NLIS is regulated by State and Territory legislation and each jurisdiction is responsible for compliance monitoring and enforcement. All participants along the livestock supply chain, including livestock exporters, have responsibilities under NLIS and non-compliance at any level undermines Australia's ability to identify livestock and track movements.

This project has delivered Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Work Instructions (WIs) for livestock exporters and approved live export quarantine premise operators that will assist with them meeting the requirements of NLIS under State/Territory legislation. They are a concise educational/promotional handout for livestock exporters, which provides an overview of the NLIS, a summary of key responsibilities for livestock exporters and approved quarantine premise operators and the State/Territory and national NLIS help desk contact details.