Australia 2024 – Phase-out of live sheep exports by sea
Law & Regulation
Enacted – Pending Effect
July 1, 2024
Summary
The Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Act 2024 amends the Export Control Act 2020 (Cth) to prohibit the export of live sheep by sea from Australia from 1 May 2028. The Act passed both chambers of the Australian Parliament in July 2024. During the transition period to 1 May 2028, live sheep exports by sea continue under existing Export Control Act 2020 provisions without new statutory caps or quotas. The Act provides authority for the Commonwealth to administer financial assistance to producers and supply-chain businesses during the transition.
Background Context
Australia has operated as a major live animal exporter, with live sheep exports by sea concentrated entirely in Western Australia and directed primarily to markets in the Middle East. The Labor Party entered the 2022 federal election with a commitment to phase out live sheep exports by sea, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) published background analysis in March 2023 re-examining the economics of a phase-out. An independent panel was appointed to advise on the timing and structure of transition arrangements. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture conducted a parliamentary inquiry into the Bill and issued an advisory report on 21 June 2024. The live export trade had been subject to sustained advocacy from organisations including the Australian Alliance for Animals, and public debate from industry bodies and sheep producers in Western Australia contesting the policy’s economic effects and timeline.
System Impact
Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
High
The Act established a fixed legislative end date of 1 May 2028 for live sheep exports by sea, creating legal certainty about the trade’s termination under Commonwealth law. The transition support framework is operative: the Supply Chain Capacity Program is running, with funding rounds active into 2026. DAFF continues to administer live sheep export permits and voyage conditions under the Export Control Act 2020 during the transition period. No new statutory caps or quotas on export volumes have been imposed during the transition period. The number of sheep bred into and held within Australian exploitation systems is not documented as having changed as a result of this Act.
Anticipated Effects
If implemented as written, from 1 May 2028 the export of live sheep by sea from Australian territory to overseas destinations would not be authorised under Commonwealth law, regardless of destination or stated purpose.
If implemented as written, licensed exporters currently operating live sheep sea consignments would no longer be able to obtain export permits for this modality from that date.
If the prohibition takes effect as written, sheep currently supplied from Western Australia for live sea export would need to be redirected to alternative channels — domestic slaughter, intra-Australian trade, or export of chilled or frozen product — subject to market demand and processing infrastructure at the time; whether this redirection would reduce the total number of sheep bred into Australian exploitation systems is not established by the Act and would depend on market conditions.
If implemented as written, upstream and downstream supply-chain actors — feed millers, shearers, livestock transporters, port operators, and exporters — would be expected to adjust operations, exit the live sheep sea export supply chain, or transition to alternative activities, contingent on transition program uptake and market conditions.
If implemented as written, port operations in Western Australia specific to live sheep sea loading would cease from the prohibition date.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Neutral / Administrative (impact direction) because the trade continues without caps during the transition period and no contraction in animal numbers within the system is documented at the point of the law’s passage — sheep currently supplied for live sea export continue to be bred and are redirected to domestic slaughter or other export channels rather than removed from exploitation systems. The volume contraction in the live export channel specifically is documented in a separate Development record.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the Act removes the statutory permission for live sheep sea exports from a defined future date, changing what will be legally permitted rather than the conditions under which a currently permitted activity must be conducted.
Assigned High significance because the measure closes an entire export modality at national scale through primary federal legislation, with a Commonwealth transition package of approximately A$107 million indicating the structural weight of the supply chain change — noting that High significance here reflects the scale of the legal and commercial change to the live export system specifically, not a reduction in the total number of sheep in exploitation systems.
Within The System
Key Actors
The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (House of Representatives and Senate) passed the Act in July 2024. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) administers live sheep export permits during the transition period, prepared the March 2023 background analysis, and manages transition funding programs. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture conducted the parliamentary inquiry and issued its advisory report on 21 June 2024. The Australian Alliance for Animals coordinated advocacy for legislating an end date. RSPCA Australia produced public interpretive materials on the legislation. ABARES contributed economic analysis of phase-out impacts. Specific exporting companies and individual producers are not named in primary government documents.
Editorial Correction Notice
Development date: Set to 1 July 2024, the date of parliamentary passage as reported in secondary sources (RSPCA Australia). Royal Assent date may differ by a small number of days and has not been verified against a primary source. The Commonwealth legislation register (legislation.gov.au) entry for the Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Act 2024 would confirm the Royal Assent date. Update if verification reveals a different date.
Scale & Prevalence: Precise current annual figures for live sheep exported by sea (number of animals, number of exporters, number of affected producers) are not available in the research output. Primary trade statistics would require consultation of DAFF live export statistics or ABARES livestock trade data. The transition package figure of approximately A$107 million is drawn from advocacy organisation reporting of Budget materials and should be verified against the DAFF Budget Fact Sheet or Portfolio Budget Statements directly.
Anticipated Effects: Effects on supply-chain actors post-2024 (documented producer behaviour, processing capacity changes, port operations) are not yet quantified in available sources. State-level parliamentary inquiry reports (NSW Portfolio Committee No. 4, Report No. 60, March 2025) contain relevant material and should be reviewed before this record moves to Review. Whether the phase-out, if implemented, would reduce the total number of sheep bred into Australian exploitation systems or primarily redirect them to domestic slaughter channels is not established in available sources and requires monitoring post-2028.
Notice an inaccuracy or omission?
If you believe information on this page is incorrect, incomplete, or missing important context, you may submit a suggested correction for review.