New laws allowing livestock owners to voluntarily establish extra biosecurity measures on their properties to protect them from trespassers has been introduced in Victoria, with changes to the Livestock Management Act 2010.
Livestock Management Regulations 2021 have introduced offences for non-compliance with prescribed biosecurity measures, including entering agricultural premises without consent.
Offenders will face on-the-spot fines of $1294 for individuals and $8321 for organisations, further penalties of up to $11,095 for individuals, and $55,476 for organisations could apply for more serious offending.
Agriculture Victoria executive director of agriculture regulatory policy Angela Brierley says these new laws will help deter people from trespassing on farms and better enable prosecutions of trespassers.
“Victorian farmers work hard to keep their animals safe and protect them from pests and diseases with robust biosecurity systems,” she said.
“These new laws seek to deter behaviour that puts that hard work and the safety of their animals at risk.”
Ms Brierley said producers choosing to take advantage of these new protections must have a biosecurity management plan (BMP) that includes a farm map and mandatory information, as well as compliant biosecurity signage.
Specific visitor consent procedures must also be followed under the new laws.
“Producers who already have an on-farm biosecurity plan in place can simply add a BMP coversheet to this plan to be covered by the new laws,” Ms Brierley said.
“We recommend using the BMP coversheet templates available from our website to ensure all mandatory information is included.”
For an offence to apply under the new laws, the biosecurity management plan must include a clear title, including the words ‘Biosecurity Management Plan’ and the address of the premises to which it applies.
Contact information, area description and preparation details must also be included.
For more information or to download templates, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/bmp.
