Your guide to searching the PIC register

The NLIS is key to the food safety and biosecurity of Australian red meat, providing lifetime traceability of livestock to guarantee market access and customer confidence in our products.

The NLIS program relies on PICs to ensure the traceability of livestock through the supply chain. NLIS breeder devices are issued to specific PICs and are applied to any livestock born on that property. Post-breeder tags are also issued to specific PICs and are used when livestock introduced onto the property require a replacement tag. Livestock movements on and off PICs must be recorded in the NLIS database within 48 hours of arrival.

The NLIS works in conjunction with the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program which provides accredited producers access to LPA National Vendor Declarations (NVDs). The completion of an NVD requires the inclusion of the destination PIC in WA and Tasmania, however for other states this is optional but recommended. LPA accredited producers MUST reference the NVD number associated with the movement when completing a livestock transfer on the NLIS database.

What is the PIC register and when do I need to search it?

PIC registers are owned and managed by each state department of agriculture and are used to identify parcels of land used for agricultural purposes. Running a ‘search the PIC register’ report in the NLIS database allows you to find a specific PIC or find details associated with a PIC, such as a property name, location and more. This report can help you when:

• you are notified of a transfer error or warning by the NLIS and you need to find the other PICs involved to resolve the issue
• you need to find a destination PIC to complete an NVD
• you are trying to identify livestock that have strayed onto your property – by entering the PIC number (first eight characters) on the animal’s NLIS tag, you are able to search the PIC of birth (if the animal has a breeder tag) or PIC where the animal has been retagged (if the animal has a post-breeder tag), which can help you track down where the animal may have come from.

How to search the PIC register

To search the PIC register, follow the steps below.

Step 1

Log in to your NLIS account either via myMLA or directly through the NLIS website (click here for information on how to set up and access an NLIS account).

Step 2

Select the species you are working with and the report ‘Search the PIC register’. Click ‘Go’.

Step 3

Enter the relevant information to conduct the PIC search. Selecting the state where the PIC is located is a must for any search. You should add in any other known details such as the PIC number or surname, before clicking ‘Go’ to search.

Step 4

Locate the PIC in the search results.