Poultry traceability FAQs

The definition of ‘poultry’ for the purposes of this consultation includes all domesticated birds used for the production of meat or eggs for consumption, for the production of other commercial products, for restocking supplies of game, or for breeding, racing, exhibition or competition. 

Poultry includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pigeons, quail, pheasants, partridges, emus, ostriches and domesticated pigeons (such as those kept for breeding, racing, exhibition or competition).

Any person or entity in the categories below will be required to register with DPIRD as a livestock owner and be issued with a PIC for all locations where they keep poultry:

• persons/entities with 50 or more poultry
• persons/entities with 10 or more ostriches or emus
• persons/entities who sell eggs and/or bird meat (regardless of how many birds they own) to
  • any other person (including friends and neighbours)
  • a food business such as a supermarket, café, hotel or bakery 
  • another egg producer
  • a market/farmers market
  • wholesaler. 

Owners of poultry abattoirs will be required to register with DPIRD as a non-farming property operator and be issued with a PIC.

There are no proposed requirements to individually identify birds or record movements of birds from property to property.

The proposed requirement will not affect backyard and hobby bird owners with fewer than 50 poultry or 10 emus or ostriches unless they sell bird meat or eggs (including to friends, neighbours or at farmers’ markets).

No, the existing PIC will cover all livestock on your property. Once legislative amendments have been made, you should modify your registration details to show that you run poultry as well as other stock.

DPIRD examined the thresholds set for registration in other Australian jurisdictions and proposed 50 or more poultry and pigeons and 10 or more ostriches or emus as the WA threshold. These figures align with the Victorian legislative arrangements, and are designed to capture owners with significant numbers of birds while minimising impacts on hobby or backyard non-commercial poultry owners.  

The registration of poultry owners and their properties with DPIRD will complement the existing Department of Health arrangements that require egg producers and processors selling eggs to mark each individual egg or egg package with a unique identifier and encourages producers/processors to record their unique identifier on a central register. The combination of the two systems will ensure that biosecurity and food safety risks are managed effectively across the range of enterprises including exhibition and competition as well as food production.

In the event of a biosecurity emergency or food safety incident, a register of owners with PICs will enable DPIRD to contact bird properties quickly with relevant biosecurity information. 

The PIC system also allows DPIRD to identify which poultry businesses are affected by a disease or food safety incident so that biosecurity action can be targeted to those businesses, thereby minimising disruption to unaffected businesses.

Yes, all other states and territories require poultry owners to register with their agricultural authority.

A property identification code (PIC) is an eight character alphanumeric code assigned to an agricultural property by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). The PIC is allocated to an owner of livestock who operates and keeps stock on the property. Western Australian PICs begin with the letters WA followed by two letters that identify the Shire where the property is located e.g. York is YK followed by four digits which are sequentially allocated (for example WAYK1001). The PIC forms part of the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) and is linked to an owner’s stock brand registration.

Why does DPIRD use PICs for livestock traceability?

PICs underpin our livestock traceability systems in WA and nationally. DPIRD uses PICs to identify properties registered to owners of livestock and the owner/operator’s contact details. The PIC enables a ready reference for tracing livestock and contacting owners when responding to a disease outbreak or food safety concern and allows DPIRD to provide targeted communications for routine and biosecurity emergency purposes. 

DPIRD administers registration of WA livestock owners and maintains the register. The costs of delivering this service are recovered via a fee for registration. It is a legal requirement in WA under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 for owners of livestock to be registered.

For more information before making your submission, please email animalbiosecurity@dpird.wa.gov.au or you can use the Questions section on this webpage to ask questions.

DPIRD encourages WA poultry industry stakeholders and community members to have their say on this proposal. You can provide your feedback via the online submission form on the consultation website: Talking Biosecurity, at https://talkingbiosecurity.dpird.wa.gov.au/

If you have any difficulties making your submission, please email animalbiosecurity@dpird.wa.gov.au .

Note: Submissions may be published online at the conclusion of the consultation and may also be cited in a publically available report. Submitters who do not want their name published, or would like their submission to remain confidential, should clearly state this in their submission. 

Following the consultation closing date, DPIRD will review the submissions and assess whether the proposal is supported by stakeholders or requires changes. Your submission may be published online at the conclusion of the consultation and may also be cited in a publically available report. If you do not want your name published, or would like your submission to remain confidential, you should clearly state this in your submission.

Following the consultation closing date, DPIRD will review the submissions and assess whether the proposal is supported by stakeholders or requires changes. The proposal will then be finalised and Ministerial approval sought to commence drafting of legislative amendments. 

The final proposal will be published on the DPIRD website and communicated to industry. A communications campaign will be implemented before any amendments are made law.