Small-scale livestock farmers in Australia are facing mounting pressure as abattoirs across the country increasingly foreclose access to their services. The issue is accelerating as companies vertically integrate and/or are bought up by large multinationals who would rather export industrial meat than feed Australian communities.

AFSA’s Abattoir Campaign: Progress so far

Small-scale livestock farmers in Australia are facing mounting pressure as abattoirs across the country increasingly foreclose access to their services. The issue is accelerating as companies vertically integrate and/or are bought up by large multinationals who would rather export industrial meat than feed Australian communities.

In December 2024, Hardwicks, Victoria’s largest and most central cattle and sheep abattoir, announced the end of small service kills effective 14 December, giving farmers just two weeks’ notice in the lead up to Christmas. The situation in Victoria reflects what is happening in every state across Australia. Farmers in southwestern WA lost access to the now-closed Tammin abattoir and would have lost access to DBC in February 2025 if pressure from farmers hadn’t forced the company to reverse its plan and keep service kills available. In New South Wales, farmers lost access to three abattoirs in just four months in 2025 (Cowra, Canowindra, and Booyong).

This is not a standalone issue, nor a state problem–it’s a national crisis–and AFSA is taking action to safeguard the future of local food production. Farmers’ and butchers’ livelihoods are threatened, animals are being transported much longer distances, cold chain logistics will have to be found or developed at great additional cost, and access to local, pasture-raised meat could disappear, giving way to more feedlot and industrial meat produced by corporations.

In response, AFSA and its allies joined forces to advocate for urgent reforms to state Meat Industry Acts and planning provisions to enable the rapid establishment of micro-abattoirs. We called on state governments to apply existing game meat standards to domestic livestock, allowing farmers to undertake on-farm slaughter followed by inspection and processing, an immediate and practical step to protect farmer viability. Among other key recommendations, we also urged that definitions for micro-abattoirs be incorporated into each state’s reform proposals. Before even starting this campaign, one of our longstanding proposals was reflected in Recommendation 27 of the Inquiry into Securing the Victorian Food Supply.

During 2025, the campaign built significant momentum in Victoria, where AFSA – recognised as a key stakeholder – was invited by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to join a new Abattoir Access for Victorian Livestock Producers Working Group.

These achievements culminated in AFSA’s most significant advocacy success to date. In early August 2025, the Victorian Government passed reforms enabling micro-abattoirs to be built on farms without the need for a planning permit, a historic win eight years in the making.

Thanks to the visibility, collaboration, and collective energy generated through this campaign, AFSA has strengthened its network of members, allies, and farmers both directly and indirectly affected by abattoir closures. With our scant financial resources but abundant human care and commitment, we also produced a comprehensive report on reclaiming the means of meat processing, a historical analysis of the crisis, and a step-by-step guide to building collective micro-abattoirs (see report). Finally, media interest in the story has not waned, as demonstrated by this recent article in the urban-culture-focused Broadsheet.

On this page, you’ll find important information, resources and actions to drive AFSA’s National Abattoir Campaign to ensure that small- and medium-scale livestock farmers are not squeezed out of production through corporate consolidated ownership of infrastructure.

Drawing on state-by-state data on abattoir closures from AFSA’s survey report, we used this evidence to strengthen our advocacy across government and media outreach. To ensure the urgency of the issue could not be ignored, we engaged a publicist to craft a strong and compelling public message that clearly conveyed what these closures mean for the average Australian consumer.

In all communications with media and government, we consistently called for the following actions:

  1. Regulatory reform to allow on-farm slaughter: Small farmers should be able to humanely slaughter animals on their own land, refrigerate the meat, and have it inspected by a licensed Meat Inspector. This system already exists for game meat in Australia.
  2. Urgent legislative action to recognise micro-abattoirs as ancillary use: State governments should eliminate the requirement for planning permits for micro-abattoirs in the agricultural zones, and work with farmers to fast-track permits for new micro-abattoirs until such reforms are enacted.
  3. Government support for micro-abattoirs: The government must introduce proportionate regulations for small-scale abattoirs and provide funding assistance to urgently build them.

Government Outreach

As part of AFSA’s abattoir campaign, targeted letters were sent to Ministers in every state. These letters, available in full on the AFSA website, outlined clear recommendations to enable the establishment and recognition of micro-abattoirs and related reforms. Although we adapted each letter to each specific State legislation, a summary of the key requests is provided below:

  • Apply ‘field harvest’ standards to domestic livestock, allowing on-farm slaughter, chilling, and inspection prior to transfer to a licensed butcher for processing. This model, long established in the game meat industry under the Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production of Wild Game Meat for Human Consumption AS4464:2007, offers clear animal welfare benefits and would support the survival of small-scale farmers. A legal precedent already exists for this practice on Lord Howe Island, where no conventional abattoirs operate
  • Classify micro-abattoirs as ancillary use in the agricultural zones, removing the requirement for planning permits. This requires guidance as to what constitutes a ‘micro-abattoir’, e.g. a facility processing a set maximum throughput per annum and/or generating less than 200 tonnes of organic waste processed and retained on-farm in line with EPA Guidelines.
  • Fund appropriate training and accreditation for producers and workers across the supply chain, including meat inspection.
  • Write a letter to your local MP and let them know you’re deeply concerned about the future of local food production. We’ve put together a template which can be addressed to your local member, to let them know that we need urgent reforms to enable producers to build their own micro-abattoirs on farms.
  • Speak out on social media! Let governments know what we stand to lose if abattoirs continue to close their doors to smallholders, and we have no protections in place to build micro and mobile abattoirs. Here’s an example of what you can do to paint a picture of what will be lost in your local community. Don’t forget to tag us (@agfoodsov) so we can share your message loud and clear across our platforms. 
  • Become an AFSA member. We are a farmer and First Peoples-led, volunteer-run organisation, and we rely solely on membership to keep our work to transform the food system going.

AFSA has been hard at work launching the National Abattoir Campaign, which includes pulling together important information and resources for farmers to take action on building their own micro-abattoirs, as well as working collaboratively with state governments to get urgent measures enacted to safeguard the future of small-scale livestock farming. This includes:

Meat Collective Starter Pack

(member-only resource), which includes documentation shared by the Meat Collective @ Jonai:

  • Reclaiming the Means of Meat Processing (full report)
  • Micro-abattoir building design 
  • Abattoir Construction Budget & Project Plan
  • Draft OpEx
  • Planning application
  • Food safety program
  • Meat collective governance
  • Avoiding debt & funding your micro abattoir
  • EMP/Waste Management
  • NOUS report

If you would like to grab a copy of the Meat Collective Starter Pack, please ensure you sign up for AFSA membership, then email us to get access

Other AFSA Advocacy Activities

  • Writing letters to state ministers, asking for their urgent support to enact reforms to state planning legislation;
  • Meeting with state agriculture and primary industry departments to discuss the national abattoir crisis and provide them with information about how governments can support farmers in the transition towards micro-abattoirs;
  • Talking to the media to ensure key messages in the National Abattoir Campaign reach a wide audience of farmers, eaters and policymakers;
  • Providing advice and support to farmers who have been impacted by abattoir closures, or soon will be;
  • Sharing important updates and information across AFSA’s social media channels.
  • Past petitions:

Here are a list of briefing notes we’ve compiled that detail the key recommendations for urgent reforms needed to safeguard the future of small-scale livestock farmers and butchers, and everyone’s access to local meat:

Got any other ideas? Send us an email! We’re keen to hear suggestions on how we strengthen this campaign through allyship, media, content and anything else that help us win urgent reforms needed to secure the future of small-scale livestock farming in Australia.

In August 2025, Victoria amended its planning scheme to make micro-abattoirs a Section 1 use in the Farming Zone, Green Wedge A Zone, and Rural Activity Zone – no permit required!

In November 2024, after 7 years of lobbying by AFSA and its members, Recommendation 27 in its Parliamentary Inquiry into Food Supply in Victoria, states: The Victorian Government amend the Meat Industry Act 1993 (Vic) to specifically provide for and define micro-abattoirs and the Victorian Planning Provisions to introduce micro-abattoirs (including mobile micro-abattoirs) as a Section 1 use in the Farming Zone, Rural Activity Zone, Green Wedge Zone and the Green Wedge A Zone. The Victorian Government support small scale livestock producers to establish micro-abattoirs (including mobile micro-abattoirs) in communities which can demonstrate a need for this critical shared agricultural infrastructure. In July 2025, the Victorian Government accepted recommendation 27.

In December 2024, Agriculture Victoria released the On farm, small scale or mobile abattoirs e-guide, to help farmers and planners understand the approvals required to develop an on-farm small scale fixed or mobile abattoir.

The Western Australian Meat Industry Authority also released its Abattoir Regulatory Approvals Guidelines for farmers to access guidance on establishing a fixed or mobile abattoir.

In response to the abattoir crisis and AFSA’s advocacy efforts, Agriculture Victoria has established an Abattoir Access Working Group for farmers and other food system stakeholders.

Our friends at Sustainable Table have published the Ethical Meat Processing Guide, summarising key learnings from four online roundtables unpacking the abattoir crisis.

Our other friends at Sprout have released The Tasmanian Livestock Service Kill Processing Report, funded by the Tasmanian Government through the Strategic Industry Partnership Program, lays out the complexities and fragilities in the service-kill system — and points to a clear path forward.