Biosecurity Policy | Sheep Producers Australia

Biosecurity

Last Updated:

March 2025

Position statement

Sheep Producers Australia (SPA) recognise that the success of Australia’s export-focused sheep meat industry relies on Australia’s biosecurity systems and the market access they afford. An effective biosecurity system also helps to minimise the impacts of pests and diseases on animal health, productivity and sustainability, and the quality and integrity of our products.

Delivering an effective national biosecurity system relies on all parties – governments, industry and the community – playing a part. Sheep producers contribute to the national system through mandatory levies and on farm activities to manage animal health and reduce biosecurity risk. SPA will continue to commit resources to improve biosecurity practices at a whole of sheep industry and individual enterprise level, and to meet its obligations as a signatory to the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (EADRA). SPA is also committed to working with governments and industry to raise awareness of the importance of biosecurity, and to ensure that the national biosecurity system is fit for purpose, innovative and adequately resourced to continue to protect and deliver benefits for all Australians.

What's the issue?

Australia faces an increasingly complex biosecurity risk environment.

Expanding global connectivity and trade, and the recent spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease in southeast Asia have increased the risk of an incursion of a major animal disease in Australia. An outbreak would have significant consequences for domestic production and export market access. Ensuring effective systems are in place for disease surveillance and emergency preparedness and response is a priority for the sheep meat industry.

Sheep producers are concerned that funding of critical biosecurity functions by the Australian, state and territory governments is insufficient, and that the biosecurity system is under significant stress as incursions and responses grow in number and complexity. Of equal concern is the lack of long-term national arrangements for funding and delivering important cross-jurisdictional activities like preparedness, surveillance and containment, as well as management of established pests, diseases and weeds.

Producers are both beneficiaries of and significant investors in the biosecurity system. Substantial direct financial contributions are made by producers through transaction levies that flow to Animal Health Australia (AHA) and Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), levies and fees paid to state governments, and operational expenses and in-kind contributions for on-farm biosecurity activities. These biosecurity activities benefit not just individual producers but the broader Australian community and economy. Ensuring producers understand the important role their levies and on-farm investments play in delivering a strong national biosecurity system that protects the industry and fosters growth is critical, as is building the broader community’s understanding of the benefits of public investment in a strong national system.

SPA policy principles

SPA seeks an effective, well-resourced, efficient and innovative national biosecurity system that underpins the competitiveness of Australia’s sheep meat industry. To deliver on this vision, SPA endorses the following principles and priorities:

Market access. The viability and growth of Australia’s sheep meat industry depends on consistent access to international markets, which is underpinned by a strong biosecurity system that delivers favourable pest and disease status.

National approach. A coordinated national approach to biosecurity, including preparedness, response and recovery arrangements, is critical for effectively addressing complex, interconnected threats to human health, agriculture and the environment.

A nationally harmonised approach to onshore biosecurity regulation and program delivery would provide certainty to industry and support more effective management of endemic pests, weeds and animal diseases.

One Health. Biosecurity risk management in Australia should formally adopt a One Health approach, recognising the interconnectedness of human and animal health and the underpinning systems for preventing and responding to disease outbreaks.

Producer levies. Mandatory producer levies and fees to industry service providers and governments are essential contributions to the national biosecurity system that must be maintained, and their value promoted to producers.

Transparency and accountability. Industry service providers and government agencies that receive producer levies for biosecurity activities must be transparent and accountable to industry in the expenditure of those funds.

System funding. An effective biosecurity system relies on sustained levels of targeted government investment with appropriate oversight. In line with the commitment made through the National Biosecurity Strategy, biosecurity funding and investment approaches must be efficient, equitable, adaptable, transparent and responsive to the changing risk environment. Funding is a joint responsibility of all levels of government, industry and those who create biosecurity risk.

Risk tolerance. Sheep producers have a low tolerance for activities that increase biosecurity risk and threaten industry viability. This stance informs SPA’s policy to oppose the importation of live FMD virus into Australia (not including attenuated live virus vaccines to be used in the event of an FMD outbreak), to maintain Australia’s FMD-free status and minimise the risk of an FMD incursion.

Prevention and preparedness. Preventive measures that stop biosecurity threats from entering Australia, and effective preparedness systems for rapid incursion response, are the most cost-effective way to prevent arrival and spread of new pests and diseases.

Surveillance. Surveillance is a cornerstone of Australia’s biosecurity system, central to early detection, risk management and trade facilitation. Surveillance should be prioritised and jointly funded by the Australia state and territory governments and industry (via AHA levy funds) through long-term programs that have the resourcing to adapt to evolving regional risks and the emergence of new technologies.

Emergency response. Reasonable, appropriate and market-based rates of compensation and relief must be provided to sheep producers affected by emergency disease responses, including livestock standstills, destruction and closure of markets.

Established pests and weeds. Established vertebrate pests, diseases and weeds have a significant impact on industry productivity and sustainability. Effective management would be supported by consistent regulation and long-term, coordinated funding.

On farm biosecurity. Producers play an important role in biosecurity stewardship, which should be recognised and promoted. Producers should adopt a consistent, coordinated, best-practice approach to biosecurity risk management on farm.

Traceability. Robust national traceability systems, including individual electronic identification for sheep, support rapid detection of and response to emergency disease. Traceability systems should be industry led, delivered in partnership with government.

Technology and innovation. New technology and innovative approaches underpin continuous improvement in biosecurity risk management across the continuum. Producer levies should continue to be directed towards research and development to support improved management of on-farm biosecurity and animal health.

System improvement. Continuous review and improvement of the biosecurity system is important and must include commitment by governments to implement reforms identified in independent system reviews, including reviews of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity, and reviews by the Inspector General of Biosecurity. Indicators should be developed to assess system performance and improvement.

SPA's role

SPA is committed to working with governments, producers and across industry to ensure the national biosecurity system is fit for purpose. As the peak body representing Australia’s sheep meat industry, SPA’s role is to:

Deliver policy and advocacy that supports:
- a consistent, best-practice industry approach to biosecurity risk management
- a sustainably, responsibly funded and effectively delivered national biosecurity system, with an expanded contribution from those who create biosecurity risk
- optimisation of sheep industry contributions to the system, where benefits clearly flow back to producers.
Deliver on its responsibilities as a signatory to the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement, including working collectively to reduce the risk of emergency animal disease (EAD) incursions and sharing the approved costs of EAD responses.
Work with AHA and MLA to provide advice on the expenditure of compulsory industry levies, to ensure levies are directed to areas of highest return for producers.
Develop, deliver and promote the National Sheep Industry Biosecurity Strategy (NSIBS), in partnership with WoolProducers Australia and AHA, focusing on sheep-specific biosecurity issues, and secure funding to implement agreed industry priorities.
Represent sheep meat industry interests and priorities in national forums that have oversight of key aspects of the national biosecurity and food safety system, including the Sustainable Biosecurity Funding Advisory Panel, AHA Members Forum, AHA Livestock Industry Forum and technical advisory groups and coordinating committees, SAFEMEAT partners, MLA Supply Chain Taskforce, and the NLIS Database Uplift Project.