You may apply for this authority if you are the person in charge of any animal on any premises with a Property Identification Code (PIC). This authority gives you permission to:
- order and purchase a permanent identification device
- attach or insert a permanent identification device.
You may apply for a special circumstances authority which is granted on a case-by-base basis to remove a permanent identification device.
Livestock are uniquely identified by this device which is commonly known as a NILS tag. It can provide information on property of origin, as well as a traceable record of where the animal has been. The device will contain the property identification code (PIC) and national livestock identification system (NLIS) number which is a unique number used to identify an animal within the NLIS database.
Please note that only cattle, sheep, and goats are currently traced via the NLIS database.
There are different devices and tagging requirements depending on the animal you are tagging. Please see the Agency website for detailed information on identification devices and application methods for cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
All livestock must be tagged with a permanent identification device before the animal(s) move from the property.
