Notifiable diseases
Notifiable diseases are animal diseases that when suspected by owners, vets or laboratories must be reported within a defined time frame.
Early recognition of a serious or exotic animal disease is one of the most important factors influencing the chance of controlling the disease and reducing its economic and social impact on the whole community. Government recognises this issue by defining some animal diseases as ‘notifiable diseases’. This means that there is a legal obligation to notify authorities if you know or suspect that an animal has one of these diseases.
These are divided into notify immediately, report within 12 hours or report within seven days.
Signs that could indicate a notifiable or emergency animal disease
- High rate of death or sickness in animals
- Sudden death
- Drop in production of milk yield or egg production
- Rapid spread of disease through a flock or herd
- Blisters, erosions or ulcers in their mouth, on or around the muzzle, feet, udder or teats
- Excessive nasal discharge or salivation
- Unusual nervous signs such as tremors, uncharacteristic aggression or paralysis
- Any unusual disease symptoms
- Disease affects multiple species
How to notify
There are three ways to notify Agriculture Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer of suspected notifiable diseases:
- Call the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888 (24 hours a day, every day of the year). This option must be used for all diseases (other than bee diseases) that must be reported immediately.
- The Notify Now app, which allows users to send high-quality geo-located photographs of the affected animals, with the owner’s details and Property Identification Code.
- Disease notification form (WORD - 63.2 KB) , which can be emailed to cvo.victoria@agriculture.vic.gov.au or posted to:
Chief Veterinary Officer
Agriculture Victoria
475–485 Mickleham Rd
Attwood VIC 3049
Notifiable diseases in Victoria
Notifiable diseases are defined under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 (LDCA), and the obligations of livestock owners, vets, laboratories and others are set out in the Act and its associated regulations and orders.
The listed diseases are broken up into:
- Non-exotic diseases of mammals, birds and bees that must be notified immediately
- Exotic diseases of mammals and birds that must be notified immediately
- Exotic diseases of bees that must be notified immediately
- Exotic diseases of fish, molluscs and crustacea that must be notified immediately
- Non-exotic diseases of mammals, birds, and bees that must be notified within 12 hours
- Non-exotic diseases of mammals, birds, and bees that must be notified within 7 days
- Non-exotic diseases of fish, molluscs and amphibians that must be notified within 7 days
Mammals are vertebrate animals where young are fed with milk from mammary glands. Common examples include cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, dogs and cats.
Notify diseases with our app
Notifiable diseases can also be reported through our mobile app called Notify Now.
The app allows users to send high quality geo-located photographs of the affected animals, with the owner's details and Property Identification Code directly to the Chief Veterinary Office.
Users can also use the app to call the 1800 Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline number, if required.
The app is available to download now on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Search for 'Notify Now'.
To notify diseases of bees refer to Notifiable bee pest and diseases.
Report suspected disease immediately to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
Report suspected bee diseases to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline: 1800 084 881 (24 hours a day, every day of the year).
Diseases of mammals and birds:
- Anthrax
Diseases of bees:
- American foul brood (Paenibacillius larvae)
Report suspected disease immediately to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
These are diseases that do not normally occur in Australia. If any of these diseases are suspected a person must notify an inspector of livestock without delay and by the quickest means possible.
- African horse sickness
- African swine fever
- Aujeszky's disease
- Avian influenza
- Bluetongue
- Borna disease
- Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus Type 2
- Brucella canis
- Brucellosis – (Brucella abortus)
- Brucellosis – caprine and ovine (B. melitensis)
- Bungowannah virus
- Camelpox
- Canine influenza
- Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (CME) (Ehrlichia canis)
- Chagas disease (T. cruzi)
- Classical swine fever
- Contagious agalactia
- Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
- Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia
- Contagious equine metritis
- Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever
- Cysticercus cellulosae (Taenia solium)
- Devil facial tumour disease
- Dourine
- Duck virus enteritis (duck plague)
- Duck virus hepatitis
- East coast fever (Theileria parva) and Mediterranean Theileriosis (Theileria annulata)
- Echinococcus multilocularis
- Elaphostrongylosis
- Encephalitides (tick-borne)
- Enzootic abortion of ewes
- Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (clinical disease)
- Epizootic lymphangitis
- Equine encephalomyelitis (eastern, western and Venezuelan)
- Equine encephalosis
- Equine influenza
- Equine piroplasmosis (Babesia caballi and Theileria equi)
- Fasciola gigantica
- Foot and mouth disease
- Fowl typhoid (S. gallinarum)
- Getah virus
- Glanders
- Goat pox
- Haemorrhagic septicaemia
- Heartwater
- Hendra virus
- Infectious bursal disease (hypervirulent and exotic antigenic variant forms)
- Influenza A viruses in swine
- Jembrana disease
- Leishmaniosis of any species
- Louping ill
- Lumpy skin disease
- Lyssavirus including Australian bat lyssavirus
- Maedi-visna
- Malignant catarrhal fever (wildebeest associated)
- Menangle virus infection (porcine paramyxovirus)
- Mycoplasma iowae
- Nairobi sheep disease
- Newcastle disease (virulent)
- Nipah virus
- Peste des petits ruminants
- Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus
- Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome
- Post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome
- Potomac fever
- Pulmonary adenomatosis (Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus)
- Rabies
- Rift Valley fever
- Rinderpest
- Salmonella Enteritidis infection in poultry
- Salmonellosis (S. abortus-equi and S. abortus-ovis)
- Screw worm fly – New World (Cochliomyia homnivorax)
- Screw worm fly – Old World (Chrysomya bezziana)
- Seneca Valley virus infection in pigs
- Sheep pox
- Sheep scab
- Spongiform encephalopathies
- Surra (Trypanosoma evansi)
- Swine vesicular disease
- Teschen disease (Porcine enterovirus encephalomyelitis)
- Transmissible gastroenteritis
- Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease of deer, feline spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie)
- Trichinellosis
- Trypanosomiasis (tsetse fly associated)
- Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis)
- Tularaemia
- Turkey rhinotracheitis (avian metapneumovirus)
- Vesicular exanthema
- Vesicular stomatitis
- Warble fly myiasis
- Wesselsbron disease
- West Nile virus clinical infection
- White nose syndrome of bats (Pseudogymnoascus destructans)
Report suspected bee diseases to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline: 1800 084 881 (24 hours a day, every day of the year).
- Acute bee paralysis virus (Cripavirus)
- Africanised bees
- Aphid lethal paralysis virus strain
- Apis iridescent virus (Iridovirus)
- Deformed wing virus (Iflavirus)
- Egypt bee virus
- Lake Sinai virus – strains 1 and 2
- Large hive beetle (Hoplostoma fulgineus)
- Phorid fly (Apocephalus spp. incl A. Borealis)
- Slow Bee Paralysis Virus
- Tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi)
- Tropilaelaps mite (Tropilaelaps clareae and Tropilaelaps mercedesae)
- Varroosis (Varroa destructor)
- Varroosis (Varroa jacobsoni)
Report suspected disease immediately to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
These are diseases that do not normally occur in Australia. If any of these diseases is suspected a person must notify an inspector of livestock without delay and by the quickest means possible.
Exotic diseases of fin fish
- Bacterial kidney disease (Renibacterium salmoninarum)
- Channel catfish virus disease
- Enteric Redmouth disease (Yersinia ruckeri - Hagerman strain)
- Enteric septicaemia of catfish (Edwardsiella ictalurid)
- European catfish virus
- European sheatfish virus
- Furunculosis (Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. Salmonicida)
- Grouper iridoviral disease
- Gyrodactylosis (Gyrodactylus salaris)
- HPR-deleted or HPR0 Salmonid alphavirus
- Infectious haematopoietic necrosis
- Infectious pancreatic necrosis
- infectious salmon anaemia virus
- Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus-like (ISKNV-like) viruses
- Koi herpesvirus disease
- Piscirickettsiosis (Piscirickettsia salmonis)
- Red sea bream iridoviral disease
- Spring viraemia of carp
- Syncytial hepatitis of tilapia (Tilapia lake virus)
- Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy
- Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia
- Whirling disease (Myxobolus cerebralis)
Exotic diseases of molluscs
- Bonamia ostreae
- Iridoviroses
- Marteilia refringens
- Marteilia sydneyi
- Marteilioides chungmuensis
- Mikrocytos mackini
- Ostreid herpesvirus-1 μ variant (OsHV-1 μvar)
- Perkinsus marinus
- Perkinsus olseni
- Withering syndrome (Xenohaliotis californiensis)
Exotic diseases of crustacea
- Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND)
- Crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci)
- Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei
- Gill-associated virus
- Infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus
- Infectious myonecrosis virus
- Monodon slow growth syndrome
- Necrotising hepatopancreatitis (Hepatobacter penaei)
- Taura syndrome virus
- White spot syndrome virus
- White tail disease (Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus)
- Yellow head virus genotype 1
See How to notify.
These are serious but not exotic diseases.
Diseases of mammals and birds
- Brucella suis
- Cattle tick
- Equine herpes-virus 1 (abortigenic and neurological strains)
- Infectious laryngotracheitis
- Japanese encephalitis
- Parrot fever (Psittacosis or Chlamydophila psittaci)
- Pullorum disease (Salmonella pullorum)
Diseases of bees
- Braula fly (Braula coeca)
See How to notify.
These are important but less serious diseases.
Diseases of mammals and birds
- Anaplasmosis
- Avian paramyxovirus Type 1
- Avian tuberculosis (Mycobacterium avium)
- Babesiosis
- Bovine genital campylobacteriosis
- Bovine malignant catarrh
- Bovine malignant tumour of the eye larger than 2 cm
- Buffalo fly
- Caprine arthritis encephalitis
- Cysticercus bovis (Taenia saginata)
- Enzootic bovine leucosis
- Equine infectious anaemia
- Equine viral arteritis
- Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis
- Lead poisoning (in food producing livestock)
- Leptospirosis
- Listeriosis
- Mucosal disease
- Ovine brucellosis (Brucella ovis)
- Ovine footrot
- Johne's disease (Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis)
- Pigeon paramyxovirus Type 1
- Salmonellosis
- Strangles
- Trichomoniasis
- Tuberculosis (other than Mycobacterium bovis)
- Verocytotoxigenic E. coli
Diseases of bees
- Chalkbrood disease (Ascosphaera apis)
- European foulbrood (Melisococus plutonius)
- Nosema (Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae)
See How to notify.
These are important but less serious diseases.
Diseases of fin fish
- Aeromonas salmonicida – atypical strains
- Epizootic haematopoietic necrosis – EHN virus
- Epizootic ulcerative syndrome (Aphanomyces invadans)
Diseases of amphibians
- Chytridiomycosis (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis)
- Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
- Ranavirus species
Diseases of molluscs
- Abalone viral ganglioneuritis
- Bonamiosis (Bonamia exitiosus)
Alternatively, please find attached a word and pdf version of the complete list of notifiable diseases, with diseases listed in Schedule 1 being non-exotic diseases and diseases listed in Schedule 2 being exotic diseases.
Requirements to notify
Your obligations under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994.
Specifically the LDCA states (in section 7):
If a person knows or has reason to suspect that a disease is present in livestock, livestock products or hives:
- owned by that person or in the possession, control or charge of that person
- on land owned and occupied by that person
- dealt with by that person as a veterinary practitioner, inspector under the Meat Industry Act 1993 or the Export Control Act 1982 of the Commonwealth, operator of a meat processing facility licensed under the Meat Industry Act 1993 where a quality assurance program is in force, the owner or person in charge of premises registered as a diagnostic veterinary laboratory, knackery, stock agent or other person dealing with livestock, livestock products or hives by way of a profession, trade or business.
The person must notify an inspector as follows:
- In the case of an exotic disease, the person must notify an inspector without delay after becoming aware or suspecting that the disease is present by the quickest means of communication available.
- In the case of a disease other than an exotic disease, the person must notify an inspector within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner after becoming aware or suspecting that the disease is present.
The LDCA defines 'livestock' to mean any non-human animal, and any fish or bird, whether wild or domesticated, egg intended for hatching or bee.
Tick fever vaccine use in Victoria
The use of tick fever vaccine is no longer regulated in Victoria.
Tick fever vaccine may be administered to cattle destined for tick-infested areas of northern Australia or for live export cattle. Cattle that have been vaccinated for babesiosis (tick fever) which are not exported or moved from Victoria (continue to reside in Victoria) must be identified with a National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) device, and the Victorian Chief Veterinary Officer must be notified of the NLIS RFID or tag numbers.
Anaplasmosis and babesiosis (tick fever) are notifiable diseases in Victoria.
More information
For more information contact your local department vet or one of our animal health officers.