Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Drought, disaster and rural support
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Levies and charges on agricultural products
    • Mouse infestation advice
    • Plant health
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Report a concern
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Plant Innovation Centre
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We enhance our agricultural industries and trade, and manage the threat of biosecurity risks to Australia.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Budget 2025-26

    Budget 2025-26

    The 2025–26 Portfolio Budget Statements were released on 25 March 2025.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Agriculture and land
  3. Animal
  4. Animal health
  5. Australia's animal health laboratories
  6. National Animal Health Diagnostics Business Plan

Sidebar first - Animal

  • Australia's animal health laboratories
    • Diagnostic procedures
      • Aquatic and terrestrial Australian and New Zealand standard diagnostic procedures (ANZSDPs)
      • Reviewing and preparing ANZSDPs
        • Establishing the need for an Australian and New Zealand standard diagnostic procedure
        • Guide for authors writing an ANZSDP
        • Editorial and approval process for ANZSDPs
      • Australian standard diagnostic techniques (ASDTs)
      • Other diagnostic procedures
    • Laboratory policies and guidelines
    • Laboratory tests
      • Approved tests
      • Measurement uncertainty
      • Routine tests
      • Developing and evaluating new veterinary laboratory tests
        • Validation template for extension of an existing assay
        • Validation template for nucleic acid detection (NAD)
        • Validation template for serological assays
    • Point-of-care tests
    • Reference laboratories and collaborating centres
      • Reference laboratories and collaborating centres
    • Disclaimer
    • Stakeholders
    • National Animal Health Diagnostics Business Plan

National Animal Health Diagnostics Business Plan

This plan will strengthen our national diagnostic capability and capacity for terrestrial animals. It shows how we will maintain and improve our animal health laboratory system.

We developed the 2021-2026 plan with:

  • animal health laboratories
  • governments
  • universities
  • industry stakeholders.

The plan is driven by the principle that biosecurity is a shared responsibility. It works within the all-inclusive framework of Animalplan 2022-2027.

Objectives

Objectives of the current plan build on existing strengths and address identified gaps. It aims to maintain and improve our animal health diagnostic capability and capacity.

The activities against 5 key objectives of the plan include:

  • implementing diagnostic high-throughput sequencing
  • increasing laboratory surge capacity
  • increasing capacity to detect emergency animal diseases
  • point-of-care test validation
  • standardised antimicrobial resistance tests.
Report thumbnail

National Animal Health Diagnostics Business Plan 2021-2026

The NAHDBP represents Australia’s ongoing commitment to maintaining and improving diagnostic capability and capacity for terrestrial animals.

  • Download (PDF 1.1 MB)
  • Download (DOCX 1.0 MB)

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Projects

The plan guides the delivery of nationally coordinated activities.

Below is a high-level overview of some of the projects we support, and contribute to, under the plan.

The Animal Health Committee provides guidance and oversight.

Find more information about the projects.

Current Projects

Northern Australian biosecurity sequencing

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

Quality assured sequencing for infectious agent discovery

  • Establish standardised high-throughput sequencing workflows for infectious agent discovery.

Australian Biosecurity Genomic Database

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

Completed Projects

Lumpy skin disease and African horse sickness sequencing workflow

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

Current projects

National identification system for animal diagnostics

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

Completed projects

Sample Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) enhancement

  • Improve information sharing between animal health laboratories.

Exercise Waterhole: national laboratory simulation exercise

  • Test and evaluate Australia’s national laboratory preparedness for an outbreak. See Exercise Waterhole.

Current Projects

Lumpy skin disease testing in cattle and buffalo

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

National capacity building for lumpy skin disease testing

  • Establish lumpy skin disease testing capability across Australia.

Validation of Johne’s disease tests

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

Enhancing diagnostic capability for glanders

  • Establish an accredited diagnostic process for glanders.

Assessing national bluetongue diagnostic capability

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

Improving flavivirus detection in livestock

  • 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.

Differentiating lumpy skin disease infected and vaccinated animals

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

Completed Projects

Improved detection of Johne’s disease

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

Testing for lumpy skin disease in tissue samples

  • Develop a test to detect lumpy skin disease virus in a tissue sample.

Equine piroplasmosis diagnostic capability development

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

National capacity building for African swine fever testing

  • Establish African swine fever testing capability across Australia.

Current Projects

Point-of-care test platform for emergency animal disease diagnosis

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

Completed Projects

Review of the strategies and guidelines of point-of-care testing for infectious diseases in animals

  • Inform national point-of-care testing policy for notifiable animal diseases in Australia.

No current DAFF supported projects.

Project updates November 2024: National Animal Health Diagnostics Business Plan 2021-2026

This project update provides an overview of the progress of each project.

  • Download (PDF 333 KB)
  • Download (DOCX 149 KB)

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Project Proposals

Do you have a project that supports the objectives of the plan?

Please email us to discuss your proposal. Email us on animalhealthlaboratories@aff.gov.au. 

General enquiries

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

Report a biosecurity concern

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip
Page last updated: 20 February 2025

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram