1Objectives

The objectives of these Regulations are—

(a)

to prescribe requirements in relation to the branding of meat for human consumption; and

(b)

to prescribe requirements for the labelling of pet food containing meat; and

(c)

to provide for the licensing of meat transport vehicles; and

(d)

to prescribe other matters for the purposes of the Meat Industry Act 1993.

2Authorising provision

These Regulations are made under section 78 of the Meat Industry Act 1993.

3Commencement

These Regulations come into operation on 30 May 2025.

4Revocations

The following Regulations are revoked—

(a)

the Meat Industry Regulations 2015^{^[1]};

(b)

the Meat Industry Amendment Regulations 2018^{^[2]}.

5Definitions

In these Regulations—

Reg. 5 def. of ANZFSCS 4.2.1 inserted by S.R. No. 22/2026 reg. 4.

ANZFSCS 4.2.1 means Standard 4.2.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, as published by Food Standards Australia New Zealand and made from time to time;

applicant means the owner of a meat transport vehicle who applies for the issue or renewal of a meat transport vehicle licence under regulation 19;

AS 4696 means the Australian Standard AS 4696:2023, Hygienic production and transportation of meat and meat products for human consumption, as made from time to time;

chief executive officer means the chief executive officer of the Authority engaged under section 54 of the Act;

inspector means a person who is appointed as an inspector under section 70(1) of the Act;

licence label means a label issued in respect of a licensed meat transport vehicle in accordance with regulation 21(4)(e) or 26(9);

meat inspector means an individual approved to be an approved inspection service under section 7(1) of the Act;

meat transport vehicle licence means a licence issued under Part 4 of these Regulations for the use of a vehicle to convey any carcass, meat or seafood intended for human consumption;

registration number has the same meaning as in section 3(1) of the Road Safety Act 1986;

suspended meat transport vehicle licence means a meat transport vehicle licence that is suspended under regulation 26;

the Act means the Meat Industry Act 1993;

unlicensed meat transport vehicle means a meat transport vehicle that is not a licensed meat transport vehicle.

6Prescribed parts of animal

For the purposes of the definition of dressed in section 3(1) of the Act, the following parts are prescribed—

(a)

head;

(b)

hide;

(c)

skin;

(d)

feathers;

(e)

genital organs;

(f)

urinary bladder;

(g)

feet;

(h)

viscera;

(i)

mammary glands.

7Prescribed consumable animals

For the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of consumable animal in section 3(1) of the Act, the following animals that are not living in a wild state are prescribed to be consumable animals—

(a)

emu;

(b)

camel;

(c)

alpaca;

(d)

llama;

(e)

buffalo;

(f)

bison;

(g)

rabbit.

8Prescribed game

For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of game in section 3(1) of the Act, deer living in a wild state is prescribed to be game.

9Ban on slaughter of horse and donkey for human consumption

For the purposes of section 35(7) of the Act, the following consumable animals are prescribed—

(a)

horse;

(b)

donkey.

10Ban on sale of horse and donkey meat brought into Victoria

A person must not sell or dispose of meat for human consumption that is—

(a)

from a horse or a donkey; and

(b)

brought into Victoria.

Penalty: 10 penalty units.

Note

See also sections 34(1) and 35(7) of the Act.

11Meat for human consumption to be branded in accordance with this Division

(1)

For the purposes of section 34(1)(c)(i) of the Act, meat is branded in accordance with these Regulations if it has been branded in accordance with this Division.

(2)

For the purposes of section 39(1)(a) of the Act, a carcass that is supplied or removed from a meat processing facility is branded in accordance with these Regulations as fit for human consumption if it has been branded in accordance with this Division.

(3)

For the purposes of section 39(1B)(a) of the Act, game meat that is removed from a game processing facility is branded in accordance with these Regulations as fit for human consumption if it has been branded in accordance with this Division.

12Form of brand

(1)

A brand must—

(a)

comply with subregulation (2); or

(b)

be in a form approved by the Authority under subregulation (3).

(2)

A brand complies with this subregulation if—

(a)

it consists of a circle—

(i)

that is not less than 3·2 centimetres in diameter; and

(ii)

in which the letters "VIC" and the licence number of the facility at which the brand is used are centred; and

(b)

the letters inside the circle are all block capitals; and

(c)

the letters and numbers inside the circle are not less than 0·6 centimetres in height.

Example

(3)

On an application made by a licensee of a general meat processing facility, the Authority may approve a form of brand to be used at that facility.

Meat Industry Regulations 2025

About this Act

Bill & explanatory material

This Act’s bill