States and territories have primary responsibility for overseeing the manufacture and sale of pet food in Australia. For any information on current requirements, please contact the relevant authority in your state or territory.
In 2018, following a number of pet food safety incidents, a Senate inquiry on Regulatory approaches to ensure the safety of pet food was undertaken. The findings of the inquiry were released in October 2018. The Australian Government response to the Senate inquiry tabled in Parliament can be found here.
A pet food review Working Group was established in November 2018 at the request of the then Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. The Working Group membership consisted of:
- The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
- The Australian Veterinary Association
- RSPCA Australia
- The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
- Safe Food Production Queensland
- Animal Health Committee
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
- The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
- The Department of Health
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand
The Working Group was tasked with reviewing the recommendations of the senate inquiry and the current regulatory system governing pet food, consider options to manage the health and safety of pet food in Australia and report back to agriculture ministers. This Working Group completed its work, which was considered by ministers, and has been stood down.
As the Working Group report did not cost the various options proposed, ministers asked for a jurisdictional working group to be formed, consisting of representatives from all states and territories and the department. The jurisdictional group was tasked to analyse and cost policy options for managing pet food safety in Australia, drawing on the findings of the 2018 Senate inquiry and the Working Group’s review. A report on the outcomes of this work is being prepared for agriculture ministers’ consideration.
Given the responsibilities of states and territories with respect to pet food, any decision to implement regulation of pet food manufactured and sold in Australia would need to be made by states and territories, with our role focussed on ensuring any regulatory arrangements implemented domestically apply to imported pet food.