National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)
The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is Australia's system for identifying and tracing cattle, sheep and farmed goats.
The NLIS records all livestock movements on a national database. All animals are individually identified and tracked from property of birth to point of slaughter.
Properties with any number of cattle, sheep or goats require a property identification code (PIC).
When animals are moved to another property or location with a different PIC, it must be recorded on the NLIS database. Movements must be accompanied by approved movement documentation which must be kept for 7 years by the seller and receiver.
This process enables animals to be traced to their property of birth and last property of residence. It also allows Australia to:
- contain and manage major disease or food safety incidents
- support access to export markets.
NLIS devices for cattle
All cattle must have a NLIS accredited tag attached before leaving their property of birth.
There are 2 types of NLIS devices used for the permanent identification of cattle:
- White tags – used to permanently identify cattle before they leave their property of birth. Tags will have a unique number printed on the outside (including the PIC) as well as the electronic number inside the tag.
- Orange tags – used to permanently identify cattle that are no longer on their property of birth, have lost their original white tag, or the white tag no longer functions.
Cattle tags must be applied to the off side (right) ear.
NLIS devices for sheep and farmed goats
Currently, sheep and farmed goats in South Australia must be identified with a visual NLIS tag under the mob-based system.
All sheep and goats born on or after 1 January 2025 must be identified with an NLIS accredited electronic identification (eID) tag before leaving their property of birth.
From 1 January 2027, all sheep and farmed goats will need to be identified with a NLIS accredited eID tag before leaving the property.
Learn more about transitioning to eID for sheep and farmed goats.
There are 2 types of NLIS tags used for the permanent identification of sheep and goats:
- Breeder tags are for identifying animals still on their property of birth. It is recommended that coloured tags are attached according to what year the animal is born, although this is voluntary in SA. There are 8 year-of-birth colours. The year-of-birth tag colour for 2024 is black.
- Post breeder tags are pink. These identify sheep and goats that have moved from their property of birth and have lost their original tag or when it is impractical to record the birth PIC on movement documentation.
Using tags
Livestock producers must not
- fit a breeder tag to animals not born on their property
- attach a second NLIS device to any animal
- remove any functioning tag to replace it with a new one.
Tag loss rates
For an RFID tag to obtain full NLIS accreditation, it must complete a 3-year field trial on several different properties across Australia and demonstrate loss rates across all trial properties below 3.5%.
If you experience high tag loss rates then you should contact the tag manufacturer directly and notify them of the problem. If you are unhappy with the manufacturer's response, complete the NLIS device complaint form and Integrity Systems Company (ISC) will investigate the matter.
