Sheep and goat owners flock to take up funding

​Almost 1.2 million electronic identification (eID) tags have been purchased for sheep and goats since 1 June 2024, ahead of the commencement of mandatory tagging next year.

Any sheep or goats born from 1 January 2025 will need to be tagged with an eID before leaving their property of birth, and from 1 January 2027, they all must have an eID tag before leaving any property.

Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) Strategic Project and Policy Manager Dean Vincent said eID’s were a valuable tool.

“eIDs are designed to assist in traceability which is important for biosecurity and our agricultural sector,” he said. “For producers interested in increasing farm productivity, eIDs are a proven way to remove the poor performers from a flock by monitoring weight gains and managing wool quality.”

To support the industry prepare for these mandatory changes, the Tasmanian and Australian Governments are investing more than $11 million over four years to assist supply chain participants to meet the new regulatory requirements for scanning of electronic tags and uploading of livestock movements to the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database, which is also being updated.

NRE Tas is applying discounts at the point-of-sale for tag purchases, giving producers a $1 rebate per tag and a $4 rebate on eligible eID goat leg bands. This tag rebate scheme will close 30 June 2026, or until funding for the scheme is expended.

“This quick and decisive uptake of funding demonstrates industry’s effort to prepare for the commencement of mandatory individual eID,” Mr Vincent said.

“Tasmanian sheep and goat producers have been steadily purchasing over 60,000 eID tags per week since early June.

“Sale figures show that industry is getting ready for the changes to their traceability obligations.”

For many sheep and goat producers, the only change will be switching from a visual tag to an eID. 

To support the transition, the third round of funding for the Sheep and Goat eID Project is now open until 30 June 2025, with $2.3 million in funding for reimbursement on eligible scanning items.

Producers and owners of sheep and goats can apply for a reimbursement up to 75 per cent, capped at $5,000, for a range of scanning equipment.

Organisations that run livestock events for sheep and goats, school farms, local governments, vets, agricultural shows and not-for-profits are also eligible for this support.

The third funding round will close 30 June 2025. To date, more than 220 applications for funding for eID scanning equipment has occurred. More than $660,000 has been approved for funding under this scheme, with new applications being lodged daily.  

“All saleyards and abattoirs will be ready to scan sheep or goats with eID tags next year,” Mr Vincent said.

See the sheep and goat eID webpage for more information.