Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Help for those affected by flood

Visit nema.gov.au.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Minister
  • 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
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Plant health
    • Drought and rural support
    • Mouse infestation advice
    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 Lowering biosecurity risks to Australia, and assisting industry to accelerate growth towards a $100 billion agricultural sector by 2030.
    • 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
    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)
    • Our science strategy
    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
    Read more about our Budget

    Budget October 2022-23

    The 2022–23 October Portfolio Budget Statements were released on 25 October 2022.

    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. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Export
  4. Controlled export goods
  5. Exporting live animals
  6. Animal welfare in livestock exports
  7. Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock updates

Sidebar first - Export

  • Animal welfare in livestock exports
    • Livestock export welfare reviews
      • Northern Hemisphere summer review
      • Heat and cold stress in Bos taurus cattle
    • Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock updates

Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock updates

Livestock exporters must meet the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL). ASEL sets the minimum animal health and welfare standards for exported livestock.

We review and update ASEL regularly. We ensure the standards are fit for purpose and based on the latest science and evidence.

You’re welcome to give us feedback on ASEL by emailing aselreview@agriculture.gov.au.

Next ASEL update

We are currently working on the next update to ASEL. We are considering stakeholder feedback on ASEL issues, and findings and recommendations made by recent and current reviews. We’ve identified key areas, including:

  • near and far market definitions
  • marking and isolation of rejected livestock
  • housing and management of sheep in registered establishments
  • contingency fodder requirements
  • requirements for reporting
  • implementation of ammonia monitoring and stock handlers on aircraft.

We’ll engage with stakeholders when reviewing and drafting ASEL 3.3. We’ll consult through our Have Your Say platform. Some of the changes may need a technical analysis and a separate consultation.

ASEL updates 2021

On 18 November 2021 we published ASEL 3.2 to replace ASEL 3.1. The update aimed to:

  • reduce ambiguity
  • improve readability and usability
  • apply previously agreed standards.

Key changes included:

  • clarified definitions, certification requirements, segregation of animals
  • expanded use of approved blood tests in pregnancy diagnosis
  • more flexibility in pen space and record-keeping for sheep in registered establishments
  • more flexibility in penning animals together
  • adding a notification requirement for loading of foreign fodder
  • more flexibility in allocating crate space for livestock exported by air
  • removing redundant standards.

For more detail on changes made in ASEL 3.2, you can download a tracked changes version.

Download

Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock 3.2: Tracked changes from ASEL 3.1 (PDF 3.40 MB)
Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock 3.2: Tracked changes from ASEL 3.1 (DOCX 1.87 MB)

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

Stakeholder consultation

We published a draft ASEL 3.2 on Have Your Say for 4 weeks. Stakeholders gave feedback before finalisation of the standards.

We received 14 submissions, 9 in confidence.

Download

Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock 3.2: Response to feedback (PDF 2.04 MB)
Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock 3.2: Response to feedback (DOCX 3.45 MB)

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

Submissions

Submissions with permission to publish from the authors follow. These documents are not authored by us and may not meet accessibility requirements.

Legal statement

The following submissions are owned by the relevant organisations and individuals, and as such they are responsible for the factual accuracy of these documents. Some of the content has been redacted on privacy grounds. The department also reserves the right to not publish any submissions which it deems inappropriate. The views contained in these submissions represent the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of the department or the Australian Government.

Download

Animals Australia (PDF 162 KB)
Animals Australia (DOCX 48 KB)

Anonymous One (PDF 62 KB)
Anonymous One (DOCX 37 KB)

Cattle Council of Australia (PDF 233 KB)
Cattle Council of Australia (DOCX 2.86 KB)

LiveCorp (PDF 436 KB)
LiveCorp (DOCX 103 KB)

Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics (PDF 146 KB)
Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics (DOCX 40 KB)

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

ASEL 3.1

We published ASEL 3.1 in March 2021 to replace ASEL 3.0. We aligned text with the Export Control Act 2020 and the Export Control (Animals) Rules 2021.

Updates included:

  • new legislative references for the Export Control Act 2020 and the Export Control (Animals) Rules 2021
  • Australian Government Accredited Veterinarians (AAVs) changed to accredited veterinarians
  • health certificates changed to certificates of health
  • registered premises changed to registered establishments
  • operators (of a registered establishment) changed to occupiers.

Major reviews

An independent Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) reviewed ASEL 2.3 in 2018-19. The TAC included experts in animal health, regulatory design and the livestock industry.

The outcome of the sea and air reviews included 83 recommendations. We used these, along with stakeholder feedback, to develop ASEL 3.0.

ASEL 3.0 was published in November 2020 and included:

  • increased preparation time for some livestock at registered premises
  • changes to the notifiable mortality rate for livestock and its requirements
  • new definition of voyage length with changes for personnel, bedding and feed requirements
  • inclusion and extension of management plans for sea and air exports
  • new general requirements, and species-specific requirements for standards 1, 3, 5 and 6.

See more

Export Control Act 2020

Export Control (Animals) Rules 2021

Live Animal Export Advisory Notices

Animal Welfare

Contact us

GPO Box 858, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia

For ASEL questions or feedback email aselreview@agriculture.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

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 16 September 2022

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.