Vet practice NLIS requirements

If your vet practice holds animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs there are livestock traceability requirements that must be adhered to. This is important for disease and emergency purposes.

Veterinary practices accepting cattle, sheep and/or goats onto their premises are required to ensure that livestock are correctly identified, scanned and ‘sighted’ on the NLIS database.

Veterinary practices that allow cattle, sheep, goats or pigs onsite must:

1. Obtain a Property Identification Code (PIC)

• ensure a PIC is registered to the property at which animals are held
• ensure the PIC details are up to date.

2. Obtain an NLIS account

• a ‘veterinary’ National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) account is required to complete a transfer onto the pound PIC or a ‘sighted’ transfer

3. Ensure the owner/keeper of the impounded animals has a PIC

• All owners and keepers of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, alpacas, llamas, deer, horses, camels, 50 or more poultry legally MUST have a PIC.

If the owner/keeper of the animals does not have a PIC or refuses to provide one or apply for one, please email the owner/keeper details to livestocktraceability@agriculture.vic.gov.au

4. Ensure that all animals present at the vet practice are tagged or tattooed as appropriate

• all cattle, sheep and goats are required to be tagged with an electronic NLIS tag before being dispatched off a property
• all pigs are required to be tagged or tattooed before being dispatched off a property.

Sheep and goats dispatched to a vet clinic from interstate must be identified in accordance with the legal requirements of the jurisdiction from which they were dispatched.

5. Ensure all animals have their NLIS ear tags scanned or visually recorded

• All cattle, sheep and goats present at a veterinary practice must have their NLIS tags scanned or visually recorded. These tag numbers will be used in the NLIS transfer.

6. Ensure a NLIS transfer, or sighted transfer is completed on the NLIS database

The sighted transfer is a simplified transfer that can be completed when livestock are kept at a veterinary practice for less than seven days and are returned to their original property. Any animals that are kept for longer than seven days or do not return to their original property from the vet practice must be transferred onto the vet PIC.

• Log onto the NLIS database www.nlis.com.au
• Choose what livestock species you want to work with.
• Notify the database of – Livestock moved onto my property (full NLIS transfer onto the vet PIC)
• Notify the database of – Sighted livestock (simplified transfer)

7. Enter the following data when completing a full NLIS transfer or a sighted transfer

• NLIS tag numbers for each animal
• PIC of the property the animals arrived from. This is entered into the comments box for the sighted transfer.
• date the animals arrived at the vet practice

The NLIS transfer onto the vet PIC, or the sighted transfer must be completed within two days of the animal’s arrival at the vet practice, or before they leave, whichever is sooner.

Further information about completing a NLIS transfer, or a sighted transfer can be found at www.nlis.com.au or by contacting the NLIS Database Helpdesk on 1800 683 111.

8. Ensure the movement of pigs on the PigPass database is completed

All pigs present at a pound must have their movement reported on the PigPass database at www.pig.pass.com.au

Information about PigPass can be found online at pigpass.australianpork.com.au under the FAQ tab or by calling the PigPass helpdesk on 1800 001 458.

The sighted transfer, full transfer or a pig movement shows that specific animals, identifiable by their NLIS tags or tattoos were present at the veterinary practice on a certain day or days.