Animalplan 2022 to 2027

Animalplan 2022 to 2027 is Australia’s first national action plan for production animal health. It aims to strengthen animal health practices in our livestock industries.

Animalplan has 7 objectives that were developed through extensive engagement with government, industry organisations and animal health experts. It was endorsed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and by state and territory agriculture ministers, in September 2022.

The plan consolidates themes from over 30 existing strategies, action plans and frameworks. This includes the Commonwealth Biosecurity 2030 roadmap and the National Biosecurity Strategy.

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Animalplan 2022 to 2027

Animalplan is Australia’s first national action plan for production animal health.

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Animalplan Steering Committee

Find out about the Animalplan Steering Committee.

Animalplan Secretariat

Find out more about the Animalplan Secretariat and how to submit a new project.

Webinars

Find out more about Animalplan projects and activities in our Webinar series.

Animalplan projects

The project database includes information that was previously available in the Animalplan progress reports published between November 2023 and February 2025. Visit the Animalplan Secretariat page for information on submitting a new project.

Find a project

Project 01: Australian Biosecurity Genomic Database for notifiable animal viruses (Phase 2)

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop a database of notifiable terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases in Australia.

Project 02: Evaluation of antibody-detecting immunoassays for lumpy skin disease exposure in cattle and buffalo

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Evaluate antibody detection tests to support disease surveillance in an outbreak.

Project 03: Developing lumpy skin disease and African horse sickness whole genome sequencing workflows

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop quality-assured whole genome sequencing protocols for use in an outbreak.

Project 04: Establishing networked serological testing capability for African swine fever

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Establish African swine fever (ASF) testing capability across Australia.

Project 05: Sample Tracking and Reporting System enhancement

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Improve information sharing between animal health laboratories.

Project 06: Northern Australia biosecurity sequencing: High Throughput Sequencing network and facility to enhance northern Australian biosecurity

  • Active
  • Objective 2
Establish high-throughput sequencing capability and capacity in Northern Australia.

Project 07: Lumpy skin disease testing capacity building in the LEADDR network

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Establish lumpy skin disease (LSD) testing capability across Australia.

Project 08: Development and evaluation of a point-of-care test network for emergency animal disease diagnosis

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop a portable platform device containing a suite of tests that detect major emergency animal diseases.

Project 09: MicroRNA biomarkers for improved detection of animal diseases in a Johne’s disease model

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop a novel diagnostic test that uses host microRNAs to detect Johne’s disease in cattle.

Project 10: Developing an immunohistochemistry test for lumpy skin disease

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop and characterise an immunohistochemistry (IHC) test to diagnosis and investigation of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV).

Project 11: Developing policies, strategies and operating guidelines for point-of-care testing for infectious disease

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Inform national point-of-care (POC) testing policy for notifiable animal diseases in Australia.

Project 12: Smallholder Risk and Communication Research

  • Completed
  • Objective 3
Test an efficient, data-driven approach to locating smallholders.

Project 13: Antimicrobial resistance survey in the pig industry

  • Completed
  • Objective 4
A repeat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) survey in the Australian pig industry.

Project 15: Carcass disposal – Destroy and let lie

  • Completed
  • Objective 1

Project 17: Feral pig modelling

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Use feral pig spatial modelling to better understand feral pig distributions and their ecology.

Project 18: National laboratory simulation exercise planning

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Test and evaluate Australia’s national laboratory preparedness for an outbreak.

Project 20: Building emergency animal disease preparedness in domestic abattoirs

  • Completed
  • Objective 3
Produce emergency animal disease (EAD) preparedness training materials for abattoir personnel.

Project 22: Risk assessment for the introduction of lumpy skin disease into Australia through non-regulated pathways

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Quantitative risk assessment for the introduction of lumpy skin disease (LSD) virus into Australia via non-regulated pathways.

Project 23: Australian Agriculture Sustainability Framework

  • Active
  • Objective 6
Demonstrate sustainability performance of the Australian agricultural sector.

Project 24: Mitigating on-farm antimicrobial resistance risks for livestock industries

  • Completed
  • Objective 4
Reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR) risks in livestock industries.

Project 25: Virtual reality to support foot-and-mouth disease training (phase 2)

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Trialling how virtual reality (VR) can be used for training in the early-stage detection and investigation of suspected foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases.

Project 27: Emergency animal disease crisis management planning

  • Active
  • Objective 1
Develop new templates and resources that holistically address the actions and events that may happen in an emergency animal disease (EAD) crisis.

Project 28: A syndromic surveillance system to detect emerging animal biosecurity threats

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
  • Objective 2
  • Objective 3
A social research project to identify key drivers and barriers to participation in syndromic surveillance.

Project 32: Disposal priority project focusing on pyrolysis and composting as methods for large animal disposal

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
This project evaluates composting and pyrolysis as methods of disposal in a large animal disease response.

Project 33: Independent expert review of the veterinary science education capability of Australia and New Zealand

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Review the veterinary science education capability of Australia and New Zealand.

Project 34: Agricultural Traceability Enhancement: Australian Government contribution

  • Active
  • Objective 7
Activities under this project will support action to meet the objectives of the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033.

Project 36: National laboratory simulation exercise (Exercise Waterhole)

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Test and evaluate Australia’s national laboratory preparedness for an outbreak.

Project 37: Enhancement of One Biosecurity System

  • Active
  • Objective 3
Enhance South Australia’s on-farm biosecurity management program for livestock producers.

Project 38: AUSVETPLAN Response strategy: Lumpy skin disease

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Publish the AUSVETPLAN Response strategy: Lumpy skin disease (LSD) on the Animal Health Australia (AHA) website.

Project 39: Exercise Milky Way

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
An industry and government exercise to test raw milk movement controls.

Project 40: Exercise Paratus

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Enhancing Australia’s capability to respond to current and emerging biosecurity threats.

Project 41: An augmented reality app to demonstrate the signs of four sheep emergency animal diseases

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
Develop an app to help identify signs of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), bluetongue, scrapie and sheep pox.

Project 42: AUSVETPLAN Management manual: Laboratory preparedness

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Update the AUSVETPLAN Management manual: Laboratory preparedness.

Project 43: National Biosecurity Manual for the Ratite Industry

  • Completed
  • Objective 3
Develop a national biosecurity manual for the ratite industry.

Project 44: Australia’s Animal Sector Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan 2023 to 2028

  • Active
  • Objective 4
Implement Australia’s Animal Sector Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan 2023 to 2028.

Project 45: Alpaca National Livestock Identification System

  • Active
  • Objective 7
Develop a National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for alpacas.

Project 46: Deer Traceability

  • Completed
  • Objective 7
Investigate traceability options for the deer industry.

Project 47: The National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033

  • Active
  • Objective 7
Implement the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033.

Project 48: National mandatory individual electronic identification for sheep and goats

  • Active
  • Objective 7
Develop and implement a national mandatory individual electronic identification (eID) system for sheep and goats.

Project 49: National Livestock Identification System Database Uplift project

  • Active
  • Objective 7
Modernise Australia’s data capture, storage, and distribution system for tracking livestock and their movements.

Project 50: myFeedback data

  • Active
  • Objective 7
Help beef and sheepmeat producers make data-driven on-farm decisions to improve the quality and health of their livestock, in line with market requirements.

Project 51: Equine piroplasmosis diagnostic capability development

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop antibody detection tests to screen horses entering or exiting Australia.

Project 52: South Australian pig biosecurity project

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
  • Objective 3
Enhance biosecurity preparedness across the pork supply chain to support market access and business continuity.

Project 53: Defining an antimicrobial assessment framework for the Australian animal sector

  • Completed
  • Objective 4
Develop an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) assessment framework.

Project 54: Improve national diagnostic capability for glanders

  • Active
  • Objective 2
Establish an accredited diagnostic process for glanders.

Project 55: Assessment and improvement of national bluetongue serological capability - a comparative study of commercial and in-house ELISAs

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Evaluate antibody detection tests to support disease surveillance and response activities.

Project 56: Improvement of serological testing for flaviviruses in Australian livestock

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop an antibody detection test that can screen for several viruses at once such as Japanese encephalitis virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus and West Nile virus.

Project 57: Towards validation of a microRNA-based diagnostic test for Johne's disease

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop molecular assays using host microRNA biomarkers to improve detection of Johne’s disease.

Project 58: Assessment of molecular DIVA capabilities for lumpy skin disease virus

  • Active
  • Objective 2
Assess existing tests that determine if an animal was infected or vaccinated.

Project 59: Quality assurance for high-throughput sequencing as an infectious agent discovery tool

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Establish standardised high-throughput sequencing (HTS) workflows for infectious agent discovery.

Project 60: Materiality assessment for the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework

  • Completed
  • Objective 6
Align reporting expectations against sustainability standards.

Project 61: The Australian Biosecurity Genomic Database: Phase 3

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop a database for notifiable terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases in Australia.

Project 62: Building a sustainable national sample identification system for animal diagnostics - a pilot study using pre-barcoded sample collection tubes

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Trial pre-barcoded sample tubes to increase laboratory efficiency in an outbreak.

Project 63: Future of Australian Animal Health (2030-2035)

  • Completed
  • Objective 1
  • Objective 3
Explore potential challenges and opportunities for animal health in the future.

Project 64: Assessing the feasibility of testing trapped pooled insects for lumpy skin disease virus

  • Active
  • Objective 1
  • Objective 2

Project 66: Australian Animal Disease Genomics Initiative: building the molecular blueprints for animal health

  • Active
  • Objective 2
National program using genomics to strengthen Australia’s capacity to understand, detect and manage animal diseases.

Project 67: Enhancing rapid decision-support for emergency animal disease outbreaks - HASTE

  • Active
  • Objective 1
A national collaboration to meet the growing need for rapid, scalable, and interoperable decision-support tools for animal health emergencies.

Project 68: National Laboratory Stockpile Workshop

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Scope a centralised national stockpile for animal health laboratories.

Project 69: Development of proficiency testing program for high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics within the Laboratories for Emergency Animal Disease Diagnosis and Response network – A roadmap

  • Completed
  • Objective 2
Develop quality assurance for routine diagnostic high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics capacity in animal health laboratories.

Project 70: National deployment of the Sample Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) v2: Phase I

  • Active
  • Objective 2
Improve information sharing between animal health laboratories.

Project 71: Development of national equine piroplasmosis molecular diagnostic test capability

  • Active
  • Objective 2
Develop rapid, reliable molecular detection tests to support trade and biosecurity related certification testing.
61 results found.

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