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Australia’s sheep and wool industries are stepping up their biosecurity game with the release of two new strategies designed to protect animal health, support emergency disease preparedness, and safeguard market access.
The National Sheep Industry Biosecurity Strategy 2025–2030 and the Wool Industry Post-farmgate Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) Preparedness and Response RD&E Strategy 2025–2030 offer a coordinated approach to managing biosecurity risks on-farm and throughout the supply chain.
Both strategies came into effect on 1 July 2025.
These complementary strategies are more than just plans — they’re practical frameworks designed to help industry stay ahead of increasing biosecurity risks, driven by global trade, climate change, and emerging diseases.
The National Sheep Industry Biosecurity Strategy focuses on pre-farm-gate biosecurity. It encourages producers to adopt consistent practices, improve disease surveillance, and utilise tools such as Sheep Health Declarations and quarantine protocols.
The Wool Industry Post-farmgate Strategy picks up where the farm gate ends. It strengthens traceability through tools such as eBale and the Australian Wool Traceability Hub (AWTH), builds industry capability through training and exercises, and enhances coordination between brokers, exporters, processors, and government.
Developed with input from across the sector, both strategies reflect national best practice and support a consistent, whole-of-industry approach to disease prevention and emergency animal disease response.
Together, they create a seamless biosecurity system from paddock to port that aims to:
Importantly, they also align with broader national frameworks, such as the National Biosecurity Strategy, AUSVETPLAN, and the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy, further supporting a One Health approach to emergency disease preparedness nationwide.
Animal Health Australia played a central role in shaping both strategies to ensure they deliver practical, nationally aligned outcomes.
For the sheep industry strategy, AHA facilitated its development in collaboration with WoolProducers Australia and Sheep Producers Australia, ensuring consistency with national biosecurity arrangements.
In the wool strategy, AHA supported WoolProducers Australia’s Post-farmgate EAD Working Group, contributing to a coordinated approach under the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (EADRA). This formal agreement outlines how government and industry share responsibilities and costs during serious animal disease outbreaks.
Adam Dawes, General Manager of WoolProducers Australia, highlights the strategic value of preparedness:
‘It is essential that we continue to invest in disease prevention and EAD preparedness with a “when”, not an “if”, mentality. Changes in climate, trade patterns, and disease distribution mean that risks are constantly evolving, requiring ongoing investment to minimise impacts on our businesses, industries, communities, and economy. These frameworks provide opportunities to align industry and government efforts to help producers respond faster and more effectively to disease threats, protecting our animals, our livelihoods, market access and ultimately economic prosperity.’
Dr Johann Schroder, Technical Consultant for animal health and welfare to Sheep Producers Australia, said:
‘It is vital that sheep meat and wool producers and other stakeholders in the supply chain are well prepared for biosecurity emergencies. This will be best achieved if we work collaboratively towards delivering a tangible impact on the future of the sheep and wool industries.’
Copies of both strategies are now available to download from the Animal Health Australia website.
