The Malinauskas Labor Government will deliver additional investment as part of the State Government's 2023–24 budget to support the implementation of the first stage of electronic identification (eID) for farmed sheep and goats, to protect South Australia's $4.3 billion livestock industry.
The package will support critical infrastructure across the supply chain and provide eID tag discounts for livestock producers.
The eID system for sheep and goats is vital for improved traceability, enabling a quick and efficient biosecurity response if a disease such as foot and mouth occurs in Australia. It would also ensure that recovery from an outbreak would be quicker and the path to regaining overseas market access would be shorter.
South Australia's livestock industry is a key economic contributor to the state which supports 21,000 South Australian jobs, across red meat and wool industries.
The Malinauskas Labor Government's package is in addition to the Federal Government's contribution, which together will help sheep and goat producers transition to the new system with a national start date of 1 January 2025.
Stage one of the investment involves a 50% per tag discount in 2023–24 and 2024–25 for newborn lambs and kids, to encourage early adoption that aligns with the national start date. Essential infrastructure required for implementation of eID across the supply chain will be subsidised by 75%.
The State Government will be working with industry to prepare for the second stage, which will involve a requirement for all sheep and goats leaving property to be tagged with eID by 1 January 2027. Adopting a national approach to the individual tracking of sheep and goats will improve South Australia's world-leading livestock traceability systems and ensure they remain fit for purpose.
The Malinauskas Labor Government also provided investment into biosecurity in December 2022 with a $6.8 million funding boost as part of the 2022–23 Mid-Year Budget Review, to ensure South Australia is well equipped with resources and capacity to detect and respond to the increasing threats of emergency animal diseases.
For more information, see Electronic identification (eID) for sheep and goats.