Current laws, regulations and standards for poultry owners
As a poultry owner, you must comply with certain:
- laws
- standards
- codes of practice.
Laws for poultry owners
As a poultry owner, you need to follow the laws in the following acts of parliament:
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Domestic Fowl) Regulations 2016
- Impounding of Livestock Act 1994
- Livestock Management Act 2010
- Livestock Disease Control Act 1994
Upcoming regulations for poultry
Starting from early 2026, there will be new regulations for how to care for and manage all types of poultry in Victoria.
Victoria will implement the standards from the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry (Poultry Welfare Standards) into legislation. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Domestic Fowl) Regulations 2016 will be updated to include welfare standards for all poultry species.
The new requirements will improve poultry welfare and provide certainty to industry, the community and markets.
Further information can be found on the New Poultry Welfare Standards webpage.
To stay updated about changes to Victoria’s poultry regulations, subscribe to receive information and resources as they become available.
Standards and codes of practice
The following codes and standards for the welfare of poultry apply to poultry owners and industries:
- The Code of Accepted Farming Practice for the Welfare of Poultry outlines the minimum recommended practices acceptable for the welfare and husbandry of domestic poultry. Note: this code will be replaced by the new poultry welfare regulations once they commence.
- The Code of Practice for the Husbandry of Captive Emus is a guide for all people responsible for the welfare and husbandry of emus that are bred and/or reared in captivity.
- The Land Transport Standards outline the minimum standards required when transporting poultry by road, rail or on a vehicle aboard a ship.
Food safety standards for eggs and egg products
All egg producers must comply with Standard 4.2.5 — Primary Production and Processing Standard for Eggs and Egg Products by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
If you keep 50 or more poultry for any purpose, you must get a property identification code (PIC) from Agriculture Victoria. If you keep 50 or more egg-producing poultry (chickens, ducks, quail), and you sell or give away eggs, you must also:
- notify us and be assigned an egg stamp code
- stamp every individual chicken egg with a unique stamp (you don't need to stamp any other avian species such as duck and quail eggs)
- have and follow a food safety management statement or be part of an approved industry or commercial quality assurance (QA) program.
Download our Food safety management statement template including a worked example 
[MS Word Document - 105.9 KB]
Victorian Code for Broiler Farms
This Victorian Code for Broiler Farms is the code of practice for the planning, design, assessment, approval, construction, operation and management of broiler farms in Victoria.
The Code balances the operational needs of the broiler farm industry and the protection of the environment, particularly odour and noise for people who live near broiler farms. For example, the Code requires broiler farm clusters to get an odour environmental risk assessment as part of the planning permit application.
Download the Code:
