Saleyards and the NLIS

All saleyard operators are identified under the Biosecurity Act 2014 as a registrable biosecurity entity and must comply with the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) requirements.

Registrable biosecurity entities must register with Biosecurity Queensland to be allocated a property identification code (PIC) for livestock traceability purposes.

NLIS tagging requirements

All cattle, buffalo, bison, sheep, goats and pigs must be identified with an NLIS device before arriving at a saleyard.

Any of these animals that arrive at a saleyard without a device must be reported to a Biosecurity Queensland inspector within 24 hours of delivery and be fitted with an orange NLIS post-breeder device (cattle, buffalo and bison), or a pink NLIS post-breeder device (sheep and goats), with the PIC of the saleyard before leaving the saleyard.

If an electronic NLIS device malfunctions and cannot be read, the device may be removed by the selling agent or saleyards and replaced with a saleyard orange post-breeder device. The new and old NLIS device IDs must then be reported to the database to retain lifetime traceability.

Tagging requirements for sheep and goats

The saleyard post-breeder NLIS-approved device required to be fitted to the animal will depend on when it was born:

  • sheep and goats born after 1 January 2025 will require an eID device
  • sheep and goats born before 1 January 2025 can be fitted with either an NLIS-approved visual device or an NLIS-approved eID device.

The individual serial number (either visual or Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)) of the saleyard post-breeder device must be linked back to the saleyard PIC and PIC of consignment.

From 1 January 2027, all sheep and goats will require an approved NLIS eID device prior to movement from a PIC.

Movement records

All animal movements must be accompanied by a movement record from the property of origin to the saleyards.

A copy of the movement record must be kept by the saleyard operators for 5 years.

Reporting to the NLIS database

It is the saleyard operator’s responsibility to report all movements of cattle, buffalo, bison, sheep, goats and pigs to the NLIS database within 48 hours of the sale. However, commercial meat processors require slaughter cattle records to be updated within 12 hours of sale.

To report to the NLIS database, saleyards must register for a ‘saleyard’ NLIS account. To register for a ‘saleyard’ account, visit the NLIS website. If you require further assistance, contact the NLIS helpdesk on 1800 654 743.

Meat and Livestock Australia's tech tips (PDF, 4.6MB) are available on the NLIS database to assist saleyard operators with their NLIS reporting requirements.

Reporting livestock movements

PIC of consignment to the saleyard

Cattle, buffalo and bison

As a saleyard operator, it is your responsibility to report the movement from the vendor's PIC to the saleyard (take possession file) and the saleyard to the buyer's PIC (sell possession file).

The following information must be reported:

  • vendor/buyer PIC
  • date of sale/transaction
  • NLIS or RFID tag number for each animal
  • serial number of the movement record
  • EUSY number (saleyard ID).

Sheep and goat movements

Any lambs and kids born after 1 January 2025 must be fitted with an approved, accredited eID device before leaving the property of birth as part of Queensland's individual eID implementation.

From 1 January 2027, all sheep and goats must be fitted with an approved, accredited eID device before leaving a property.

As a saleyard operator, it is your responsibility to report the movement from the vendor's PIC to the saleyard (take possession file) and the saleyard to the buyer's PIC (sell possession file).

For sheep and goats with eID, the following information must be reported:

  • vendor/buyer PIC
  • date of sale/transaction
  • NLIS or RFID tag number for each animal
  • serial number of the movement record
  • EUSY number (saleyard ID).

For sheep and goats with visual ID, you can continue with ‘mob-based movements’. You must report the following:

  • species
  • sale date
  • PIC of origin
  • number of heads
  • the other PICs (PICs listed on the National Vendor Declaration (NVD) that can be found in the mob described on the NVD)
  • serial number of the movement record
  • PIC of the property of destination
  • EUSY number (saleyard ID)
  • if the animals have been vendor-bred or not.

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