Biosecurity planning: What is "reasonable and practicable"?

On-farm biosecurity management is a key requirement of the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program.  

These biosecurity requirements are designed to be reasonable and practicable, ensuring that LPA-accredited producers can implement effective biosecurity measures which are sustainable and manageable.   

These requirements include:

• Regular health checks of livestock to ensure they are healthy and free from disease.
• Quarantine of introduced livestock to prevent the spread of diseases. 
• Regular monitoring of livestock to detect any signs of illness or disease.
• Keeping records of all livestock transfers and the movement of equipment, vehicles, and visitors. 
• Controlling pests and invasive species to reduce the risk of disease. 
• Cleaning processes and staff training to help maintain hygiene and prevent disease transmission. 
• Documenting livestock health status and treatments via National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) and Animal Health Declarations (AHDs). 
• Implementing hygiene and quarantine strategies for returning livestock. 
• Managing visitors to minimise the risk of disease incursion onto the property.

Producers are encouraged to implement these measures to ensure the health and productivity of their livestock while also protecting the wider red meat industry and its access to global markets.  

What is “reasonable and practicable”?
Demonstrating “reasonable and practicable” biosecurity actions does not mean implementing every possible biosecurity measure. Instead, it means taking sensible, documented steps that are appropriate to the risks, scale and operation of the property, and then recording how those risks are managed through an On-farm Biosecurity Management Plan (the Plan).  

The LPA requirements recognise that every enterprise is different, and producers are not required to answer “yes” to every item in the Plan. Instead, it should accurately reflect current practices, identify biosecurity risks relevant to the property, and demonstrate that practical measures are in place to reduce those risks.  

For instance, the LPA program requires producers to identify and manage the most likely ways disease, pests and weeds could enter, spread within, or leave their property. Producers will never be able to prevent every risk occurring, but a reasonable and practicable approach starts with obtaining the relevant NVDs/Animal Health Declarations for animals coming onto your property, inspecting them immediately on arrival and using quarantine procedures when necessary.  

Continuous review and improvement of the plan shows a genuine commitment to protecting livestock, maintaining market access and supporting Australia's biosecurity system.  

Biosecurity webinar: Producer Q&A
During our recent biosecurity webinar, producers posed a number of questions about reasonable and practicable responses to some common on-farm biosecurity risks.  

A small selection of these questions is set out below, but you can access the full webinar Q&A here. 

Q:    What’s the point of a good biosecurity plan when businesses like energy companies just drive onto farmland whenever they need to?
Essential services like power, water, and telecommunications companies have access rights to install and maintain infrastructure to ensure you and your community have these services. Biosecurity plans are about what you can reasonably control and practically implement. Measures such as asking them to let you know when they arrive, signage, limiting access to specific areas, and monitoring are reasonable. These companies also do their best to minimise biosecurity risks, including cleaning vehicles and closing gates. If you have concerns about this, we recommend you raise it directly with your utility provider and let them know you have an On-farm Biosecurity Management Plan. 

Q:    What do we need to document regarding a ‘Rail Trail’ that traverses through our property?
This can be marked on your farm map, documented as part of your property risk assessment and biosecurity plan. Reasonable measures would include monitoring and where practical excluding livestock from the area. 

Q:     What happens with a biosecurity plan when you have unfenced public roadways running through your property?
This can be marked on your farm map, documented as part of your property risk assessment and biosecurity plan. Reasonable measures would include monitoring and where practical signage and excluding livestock from the area. 

Q:    Do you have some practical ideas for farms which have a public road running through it, which is also used to walk our cattle along to get to different parts of the farm?
If possible, fencing to keep people out and livestock in, signage on gates and monitoring of the area before you move livestock on/through the roadway. This can be documented as part of biosecurity plan. 

Q:    What if guests or residents need to pass through the property to get to other facilities or housing on a regular basis?
A visitor register is to keep a record of visitors who have accessed the property, not residents. If you have regular guests using set access points and roads, you may determine those visits to be low risk and not require them to log the visit. If visitors are accessing different productive areas of the farm and livestock, that would be where visits should be logged. You can include that requirement in your biosecurity plan.  

Q:    Does this mean if they pass through every day they need to sign this register?
No – if you deem them to be low risk, simply add that to your biosecurity plan.