The integrity system for agents

You can provide advice on how to complete NLIS transfers and supply clients with these NLIS how-to guides to help them complete other actions in the NLIS database.  

When completing sales or purchases for clients, always inform the purchaser if you ARE NOT completing the NLIS transfer and advise the producer of their responsibility to complete the transfer.

If you ARE completing the NLIS transfer for a client, always check the transfer has been successful and provide the client with the transfer upload ID.

Producers should be checking every transfer of livestock onto their PIC to ensure it has been completed correctly and that all purchased animals have lifetime traceability , if this is important for their supply chain.

If producers need help with restoring lifetime traceability for animals they have purchased, please refer them to their state or territory authority.

What you can’t do for your client

You cannot restore lifetime traceability for a client’s animals without a client’s knowledge.  Completing rollbacks and transfers to restore lifetime traceability without supporting details or actual information from a client, compromises the NLIS system. 

Producers have a responsibility to ensure all transfers of livestock onto their PIC are completed and relevant records are kept.

When clients need an NVD in a hurry:

• always encourage your clients to be familiar with the eNVD platform – this is the only way to access an emergency NVD
• for clients without internet access or skills, have them to call ISC Customer Service on 1800 683 111 and request help in generating an eNVD that can be then emailed and completed by hand
• you can assist in this process but the client must complete the questions and sign the declaration

What you can’t do for your client

You cannot fill out a client’s LPA NVD on their behalf.

An LPA NVD is a statutory declaration and must be completed by the person responsible for the husbandry of the livestock.  Failing to answer a food safety question correctly could lead to food safety incident e.g. animal slaughtered within a WHP – which could seriously impact not only your client but the whole industry.

You can provide advice and assist to help your client complete their LPA accreditation.

What you can’t do for your client

You cannot complete a client’s LPA accreditation for them. 

Clients that don’t have computer access or struggle with technology can be assisted but it’s vital they read through the content and complete the assessment questions themselves.

Hardcopy assessments are available at a cost and can be ordered by contacting ISC Customer Service on 1800 683 111.

It’s essential that producers understand the requirements of the LPA program – being part of the program is a formal commitment to manage their property and animals in accordance with the program requirements, to protect the integrity of Australian red meat products. 

Failing to meet these requirements puts the entire industry at risk and means your client could lose access to NVDs if audited and found to be non-compliant.

When selling livestock, always check the ERP status of the PIC the livestock are from by running the ERP PIC status report. 

If a PIC status is identified it is vital this is captured on an NVD so the information can be transferred to the receiver. This is so they know what they have bought in a consignment and can it manage accordingly. 

If involved in the transportation of livestock for your clients, ensure all animals are fit to load and understand your responsibilities in managing and reporting animal welfare incidents.

For more information on the integrity system and how you can help your clients meet their LPA and NLIS responsibilities, click on the button below. 

Every year, approximately  2,000 PICs are randomly selected to undergo an LPA audit. A further 1,000 PICs are chosen to participate in targeted LPA audits.

Find out more about on-farm LPA audits.

LPA accreditation is validated in the NLIS database. Log into the database and run the ‘ERP PIC status’ report to identify a property identification code (PIC)’s current LPA status. While producers and third parties can only run this report for PICs that are linked to their account, agents, saleyards, feedlots, exporters and processors can run this report for any PIC.

If any PICs have cattle with a risk status residing on them, early warning (EW) PIC statuses will be disclosed to feedlots and processors, to help them prepare for and manage these cattle on arrival. If there are no high-risk PIC statuses assigned to the PIC, the results will indicate ‘clear no test’ – meaning there is no need for the carcase to be tested at slaughter.

There are various reasons for checking the ERP PIC status of properties:

• Feedlots and exporters must do this to prepare for the arrival of cattle.
• Livestock agents and saleyards must do this to prepare sale catalogues.
• Processors must ensure that cattle consigned for slaughter are fit for consumption.
• Producers and third parties may want to know whether PIC statuses have been applied to any PICs linked to their database accounts.
• To identify potentially contaminated animals prior to them reaching processing.

Find out more in the Check ERP PIC status Tech Tip

ISC has consulted widely with industry about eNVD and electronic signatures are acceptable in all states in Australia. If agents or saleyards are experiencing any reluctance or pushback from parts of the supply chain regarding electronic signatures, ISC is keen to work with them on a one-to-one basis to resolve any issues. Contact the ISC Helpdesk on 1800 683 111 for assistance in this area.

NSW Police recognise the eNVD app as a valid form of livestock movement documentation and is urging the red meat supply chain to understand their responsibilities when it comes to stock checks and having valid documentation.

Read more information on using the app during a roadside stock check.

ISC provides an application programming interface (API) for any solution providers interested in creating and/or receiving eNVDs. ISC administers this through a licence program and anyone interested in the service can email eNVD@integritysystemscompany.com.au for more information.

There are a number of solution providers that are fully integrated with ISC applications, so they are licensed to provide the eNVD service to their customers. From a saleyard perspective, this means consignments you will be receiving are visible once submitted by the producer.

ISC understands there are many situations where the destination PIC will be a saleyard but producers are consigning the livestock to an agent. In this case, agents should advise the producer to put the saleyard PIC as the destination and then consign the animals to the agent as the consignee or the person taking carriage of the livestock. Some agencies will not have their own PIC so producers can manually enter the details just as they would write them in the ‘consigned to’ question on a hard copy NVD. This is the agent’s company name and the town of the branch.

From a traceability perspective, this means the livestock are still going from one PIC to another PIC, but it also acknowledges the details of the agent taking carriage of the animals when they arrive at the saleyard.

The eNVD system currently enables producers to select an Animal Health Declaration and complete it at the same time as the NVD. It is easy to select, update and attach the document to the NVD consignment on the eNVD system. However, depending on your state, you may not be required to complete this form.

ISC is currently developing software for eNVD receivers that will enable them to take carriage of consignments both online and offline on a singular digital platform.

If a producer makes a mistake when filling out an eNVD, agents should advise the producer to duplicate the consignment, update the details that they need to, and then delete the original. This can be done for 48 hours after the eNVD has been submitted.  Alternately, if the producer has printed the eNVD or has used a hard copy NVD, any changes to the NVD should be made directly onto the document with a pen and initialled.

The description on the NVD needs to be clear and free of abbreviations that may not be widely recognised. If the animals need to be visually inspected, or the transporter is pulled over at some point on the journey, the description must adequately describe the animals in the space designated on the NVD. The NVD is a food safety document and, in the majority of states, it is also accepted as a movement record or waybill, so descriptions need to be able to be understood by anyone who reads it, especially for law enforcement.

This is recommended but not compulsory.

Post-sale summaries are a legal requirement of the selling agent and need to be provided to processors before midnight of the sale day. A post-sale summary provided by a selling agent to the operator of an abattoir must include:

• sale venue
• date of the sale
• selling agent’s name
• number of head in each purchased lot
• unique identifier, if present, associated with the consignor’s movement document
• the PICs present on the electronic NLIS (Sheep) and visually readable NLIS (Sheep) tags present on the sheep or goats in the lot
• destination PIC provided by the purchaser, and
• whether the sheep and goats in each sale lot were bred by the owner or vendor.

Regulatory authorities can assign a property status to properties that are associated with the Extended Residue Program (ERP). For example, an ‘OC status’ indicates that a property has a chemical residue history. To prepare for the arrival of livestock, saleyard operators and agents should check the ERP status of properties.

If any PICs have animals with a risk status residing on them, early warning (EW) PIC statuses will be disclosed to feedlots and processors, to help them prepare for and manage the animals on arrival. If the results indicate ‘clear no test’, then animals will not need to be tested at slaughter to detect any chemical residues.

Log in to the NLIS database and run the ‘ERP PIC status’ report to identify a PIC’s current LPA status. Producers, third parties, agents, saleyards, feedlots, exporters and processors can run this report for any PIC.

Find out more in the Check ERP PIC status Tech Tip.

If a PIC status is identified, it is vital this is captured on an NVD so the information can be transferred to the receiver to know what they have bought in a consignment and can manage accordingly.  

If cattle lose their NLIS tag, there are several possibilities when it comes to ensuring continued lifetime traceability. All cattle must be tagged with a white coloured breeder tag before leaving their property of birth, and:

• If an animal loses its tag while still on the property of birth, it will need to have another white breeder tag applied. The animal will maintain its lifetime traceability regardless. If the number of the old tag is known, then a replacement can be done in the NLIS database.
• If an animal loses its tag after it has left the property of birth, it will need to have an orange post breeder tag applied. If the number of the old tag is known, then a replacement should be done in the NLIS database – linking the original tag to the replacement tag. The animal will then maintain its lifetime traceability. If the number of the original tag is not known and cannot be linked to the replacement tag, then the animal will lose its lifetime traceability.

There are two types of tags – Breeder tags (white) and post breeder tags (orange). They look the same but are just different colours. If producer have livestock that have not been bred on the property and have lost their original tag then they need to use an orange replacement tag and upload it to the NLIS system.

The receiver of the livestock is responsible for completing the transfer on the NLIS database. For sellers, it is a good idea to check the transfer has gone through at least two days after the transaction.

Agents may have varying contracts and working relationships with their clients – some may only purchase, some may only sell and some may provide a full service. As an agent, ISC recommends being clear with your client to make sure both parties understand what has been agreed regarding the transfer.

Log in to the NLIS database using an agent or saleyard account and from the dropdown menu, select the report called ‘search the PIC register’. This is NLIS’s most frequently used report and allows users to search for details for a specific PIC, or search for the PIC associated with a business name, location, surname etc. It includes PICs for producers, abattoirs, saleyards and feedlots.

Find out more in the how-to guide: Search the PIC register.

To make it easier for producers, saleyard operators are encouraged to display the saleyard PIC in a visible location at the saleyards and in all communications to producers so that all producers are aware of the saleyard’s destination PIC.

Producers must identify on the NVD any animals that have a high-risk status that pose a risk to food safety (question nine on the NVD). They do not have to outline the EW status on the NVD if the consignment does not include any high-risk animals.

Agents are encouraged to know the PIC status of consignments prior to sale and to share this information with their clients. An agent can access the NLIS database to determine whether the selling PIC has an EW status. However, an agent cannot check the individual device-based statuses of a consignment unless they have been assigned third party authority by the seller. The saleyard superintendent has the ability to check this from the list of individual devices. 

This is managed the same way as a usual sale is run and every saleyard will have a different process.

It is not expected that all animals are scanned prior to sale as not all saleyards have the ability to scan livestock. However, the vendor should inform the saleyard if the PIC they are consigning livestock for sale from has an EW status and saleyards and agents must check with the vendor whether any livestock in the consignment carry a high risk status.

If the vendor does not know the status of the consignment, and if facilities exist to do so, agents and saleyards can scan the animals in the consignment to check for device statuses and may include this information in the pre-sale catalogue.  

There is no need to identify the EW status on pens at the sale. While the vendor should alert the agent or potential buyer of any high risk animals in the lot, the EW status is an additional tool for buyers to better understand if they need to conduct any additional enquiries regarding the animals in the lot prior to purchase.

Saleyards and agents should check with the consignor whether any livestock in the consignment carry a high-risk status, or work with the saleyard operator to scan the animals in the consignment to check for device statuses.  This information may be included in the pre-sale catalogue.

Livestock consigned from an EW status PIC can be sold under the usual terms but the EW status  should be declared on the NVD. Saleyards and agents should check with the consignor whether any livestock in the consignment carry a high risk status, or scan the animals in the consignment to check for device-based statuses and include this information in the pre-sale catalogue. Animals with a lead (Pb) and unknown exposure status need special treatment.