Sheep and Goat Electronic Identification

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:13): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister please update the chamber on the new Advantage Program for South Australia's eID rollout?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in regional industries.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I am sure that most in this chamber are aware of the national introduction of electronic identification of sheep and farmed goats.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Silence!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: In South Australia, the eID system becomes mandatory on 1 January 2025, with the rollout happening in stages. As at 1 January next year, it will be mandatory to tag sheep and farmed goats born after that date with an NLIS-accredited eID tag before they leave their property of birth. From 1 January 2027, it will become mandatory for all other sheep and farmed goats leaving a property to have an NLIS-accredited eID tag.

The eID program will replace the mob-based visual tag system for identification and traceability of sheep and farmed goats across Australia and will benefit South Australian producers and the broader supply chain. The global market is increasingly demanding traceability of meat products, so this change is imperative for market access and competitiveness for South Australian producers.

Moreover, the prevalence of biosecurity issues nationally and internationally only highlights how important traceability is to have the ability to react quickly to disease outbreak and protect our $2.96 billion livestock industry; for example, the 2022 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia highlighted the urgent need to have absolutely the best possible traceability systems in place.

To ensure the sheep and farmed goat industry can transition effectively through this significant reform, last month I announced further funding of $900,000 for the development of the eID Advantage Program. This program will assist producers to understand their obligations, to realise the on-farm benefits of improved data collection, and to improve understanding of the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) and its requirements. This funding is in addition to the $9.3 million state government funding for eID, which was announced last year.

The state government, through my department, PIRSA, will oversee the development and delivery of the program, working closely with various project partners, including Livestock SA and various other stakeholders and industry bodies. Livestock SA and members of the eID sheep and goat industry advisory committee consistently raised the need to invest into extension support for producers and the broader sheep and farmed goat industry and have noted the importance of this contributing to the success of the transition to eID in Victoria.

The eID Advantage Program will include workshops to upskill producers and stock agents, along with face-to-face training sessions to build understanding of eID tags technology and how to use the NLIS database. The eID Advantage Program is just one of a suite of initiatives and funding support that this government has put in place to assist our producers, saleyards, agents, processors and other stakeholders in the sheep and farmed goat industry to be fully ready for the implementation of the new system as it commences next year.

I strongly encourage all sheep and farmed goat producers, processors and agents to take advantage of the workshops and training opportunities as they are held across the state over the coming months and years.