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Foot-and-mouth disease
Bringing new cattle on-farm is one of the biggest biosecurity risks to a herd. The National Cattle Health Declaration (CHD) helps reduce this risk by giving buyers clear, practical information about animal health before cattle arrive.
Recently, Animal Health Australia collaborated with its members, Cattle Australia and Australian Dairy Farmers, to update the CHD to make sure it remains contemporary.
The CHD is a voluntary tool that lets producers share key information about the health status of their cattle. It complements the National Vendor Declaration (NVD) by providing buyers additional detail to base their purchase decision on.
For cattle buyers, the CHD shows the health history of animals before purchase including information about disease testing and treatments, accreditation and vaccination status. This allows them to check key details early and plan their next husbandry steps, such as vaccination, drenching, monitoring and the length of isolation before the animals re introduced to the herd.
Using a CHD can help reduce the chance of:
For example, a producer buying replacement heifers can use the CHD to confirm vaccination history and avoid gaps that could create risk later.
CHDs should be used as part of routine cattle movements, including:
Buyers should request a CHD whenever cattle are being introduced to a new herd.
CHDs are not required for movements directly to slaughter. They are intended to support biosecurity decisions when cattle move onto a new property.
The updated CHD also helps sellers clearly show the value of their cattle. It:
NVDs or electronic NVDs (eNVDs) are legal documents that ensure all necessary information about traded livestock is provided by the seller to the buyer. This supports traceability, food safety and Australia’s market access is required for most cattle movements.
The CHD adds extra detail to support biosecurity and management decisions that a producer needs to make when buying cattle as well as when they arrive on the property.
In the eNVD system, key details such as property and owner information are pre-filled. As integration has improved, common information can be entered once and reused across both declarations, helping reduce duplication and minimise errors.
The updated CHD is available for free on the Farm Biosecurity website. It can be printed or downloaded as a fillable form.
The update will also soon be available through the eNVD system.
Whether you’re buying or selling, the CHD helps turn unknowns into informed decisions and supports stronger on-farm biosecurity.
Make the CHD part of your routine. Buyers should request a CHD whenever cattle are being introduced to a new herd, and sellers should be ready to provide one.
