National Biosecurity Reform Agenda
Lead Agency - National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
Status: Open - Submissions close 12 June 2026
About the Consultation
The National Biosecurity Reform Agenda consultation seeks stakeholder feedback on the next phase of reforms to Australia's biosecurity system from 2027–2032. The reforms build on the National Biosecurity Strategy and respond to increasing pressures from global trade, climate change, emerging pests and diseases, workforce constraints and growing expectations for coordinated national action.
A key objective is to develop a national roadmap for reform that strengthens Australia's ability to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from biosecurity threats while supporting trade, market access and economic resilience.
For industry, the consultation raises important questions about traceability, surveillance, data sharing, location and property identification, emergency response arrangements and the digital infrastructure needed to support a modern national biosecurity system.
How to Have Your Say
Stakeholders are invited to:
• Review the National Biosecurity Reform Agenda Discussion Paper.
• Provide feedback through the DAFF Have Your Say consultation portal.
• Respond to consultation questions on reform priorities, sequencing and implementation.
• Submit evidence, case studies and practical examples from industry experience.
• Comment on traceability, data sharing, interoperability, preparedness and response capability.
GS1 Australia Submission – Summary
GS1 Australia supports the objectives of the National Biosecurity Reform Agenda and recognises the importance of strengthening Australia's preparedness, response and recovery capabilities in the face of increasing biosecurity risks.
Our submission focuses on a foundational issue that sits beneath many of the proposed reforms: the need for nationally coordinated digital infrastructure that enables trusted identification, traceability and data exchange across jurisdictions, industries and supply chains.
Key themes raised in the submission include:
Critical digital infrastructure for biosecurity
Many proposed reforms depend on the ability to consistently identify people, businesses, properties, locations, products and consignments across multiple systems. GS1 Australia recommends treating this identification and data-exchange capability as critical national infrastructure rather than as a technology component of individual projects.
Improved interoperability and data sharing
The submission supports greater national coordination of surveillance and traceability information through open, internationally recognised standards that allow existing government and industry systems to work together without requiring a single central database.
Property and location identification
The submission highlights opportunities to harmonise property and location identification arrangements across jurisdictions by complementing existing systems such as Property Identification Codes (PICs) and the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) with globally recognised identifiers that support interoperability and international trade.
Traceability and market access
Enhanced traceability supports not only biosecurity preparedness and response but also food safety, product recalls, export certification and growing international requirements for trusted product information and supply chain transparency.
Federated and standards-based architecture
GS1 Australia does not propose new proprietary systems or centralised databases. Rather, the submission supports a federated approach where existing government and industry registers remain under the control of their owners while being connected through common standards and trusted data exchange mechanisms.