Electronic Identification Program

The Sheep & Goat Electronic Identification Programme

The South Australian Government has committed to investing a part of the 2023-24 State Budget to support the implementation of the first stage of electronic identification (eID) for sheep and farmed goats, aimed at bolstering critical infrastructure across the supply chain. As part of this initiative, the Government will provide eID tag subsidies for producers.

The eID system enables improved traceability of sheep and farmed goats throughout the sector, while also increasing the speed and accuracy of tracking biosecurity threats and outbreaks, facilitating faster response and recovery times in the event of an emergency animal disease (EAD) outbreak, such as foot and mouth disease.

South Australia will transition to eID in two stages:

• Stage 1: Sheep and farmed goats born on or after 1 January 2025 will need to be identified with an eID tag before leaving the property of birth.
• Stage 2: From 1 January 2027, all other sheep and farmed goats leaving a property will need to be identified with an eID tag.

This package will assist the supply chain in the first stage of the eID transition through:

• a 50% per eID tag subsidy in 2023-24 and 2024-25 for newborn lambs and kids
• a 75% subsidy on essential infrastructure required for the implementation of eID across the supply chain.

This programme ensures that South Australia is well equipped with the resources and capacity to detect and respond to the increasing threats of emergency animal diseases.

For more information, Electronic identification (eID) for sheep and goats – PIRSA