Sheep and Goat Compensation Fund

Victoria's Sheep and Goat Compensation Fund (SGCF) is established under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 (the Act). The fund primarily comprises livestock duties paid on the sale of sheep and goats or their carcasses in Victoria.

The SCGF receives 35 cents ($0.35) for each sheep or goat, or each carcass, sold from January 2023.

For more information about obligations to pay duty, please visit the State Revenue Office website.

The requirement to pay the duty and report to the State Revenue Office for the sale of sheep or goat, or sheep or goat carcasses, is paused for all sales from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026. The duty has been waived for 12 months as part of the Victorian Government’s comprehensive $144 million Drought Support Package.

For more information on the pause, please see sro.vic.gov.au/livestock-duty

Under Section 79B(2) of the Act, the Minister for Agriculture can make payments from the SGCF for the following:

  1. administering the provisions of the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 relating to sheep and goats
  2. programs and projects for the benefit of the sheep and goat industry in Victoria
  3. programs and projects for the control or eradication of disease of sheep or goats.

These payments can only be made once the Minister for Agriculture has considered recommendations from the Sheep and Goat Compensation Advisory Committee (SGCAC).

Sheep and Goat Compensation Advisory Committee (SGCAC)

Under Section 79I(3) of the Act, SGCAC consists of a up to 9 members appointed by the Minister for Agriculture.

Current members of the SGCAC (appointed August 2024) are:

  • Ms Kaylene Baird (Chairperson)
  • Mr Peter Baldwin
  • Ms Georgina Gubbins
  • Ms Celia Scott
  • Mr Mark Inglis
  • Ms Liz Mann
  • Mr Thomas Gooden

Grant applications are now closed

Applications for the 2025 Livestock Biosecurity Funds grant program were open between 7 March and 14 April 2025.

2025 Livestock Biosecurity Funds grant round

A total of 7 project applications were successful in receiving SGCF funding. These include:

  • Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Stock Sense Peri Urban
  • Electronic National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) (Sheep) tag subsidy
  • Commercialisation of a saliva test to breed worm resistance into livestock
  • Epidemiological investigations of key infectious abortions in Victorian sheep
  • Antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for goats
  • StrikeBack: Deploying Glyco-Relevant Vaccines to Combat Flystrike on Sheep
  • Healthy, Wealthy and Bio-Wise

For the latest information on the Livestock Biosecurity Funds grant program please visit our Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program page.

Summary of SGCF projects

For more information please contact LivestockBiosecurityFund@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Page last updated: 19 Sep 2025