Where have all the abattoirs gone?

A recent report by the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) found that nationally, 80% of respondents have lost access to their abattoir in the past five years or are about to lose access.

Communities across the country are collectivising to build micro-abattoirs, and AFSA and state-based allied organisations are lobbying for reforms to simplify this process given its increasing urgency. It is not only smallholders affected by loss of access to abattoirs – your local, independent butchers are also disappearing as industrial abattoirs shift to only selling boxed meat to supermarkets.

We are also asking state governments to apply the equivalent of game meat standards to domestic livestock to enable farmers to slaughter animals on farm for subsequent inspection and further processing, which is the most expedient means to ensure farmer viability in the immediate term.

REPORT: Secure the Future of Small-Scale Livestock Farming >

What can you do right now?

• 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.
• Boycott supermarket meat! Buy directly from farmers or from your local, independent butcher!
• Speak out on social media! Tag your local member to let them know what we stand to lose if abattoirs continue to close their doors to smallholders, and we have no support in place to build micro abattoirs. Don’t forget to tag us (@ausfoodsov) so we can share your message 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.

What is AFSA doing?

AFSA has been hard at work on the National Abattoir Campaign, pulling together important resources for farmers to take action and build 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.

REPORT: Reclaiming the Means of Meat Processing: Legal Reforms & Practical Guidance for Building Micro-Abattoirs >

We hope this document supports communities across what is now called Australia to establish their own on-farm micro-abattoirs, pushing back against the trend of corporate consolidation of processing infrastructure.

To boost AFSA’s advocacy efforts and make visible the problem, we have made Part 1: Where have all the abattoirs gone and what can governments do about it? of the report public and available for download.

Please note: The full report including Part 2 is available for AFSA members only and is not to be shared externally. If you know someone who would benefit from this guidance, encourage them to join AFSA to access it. Once you have signed up for AFSA membership, please email us for access to the report (coordinator@afsa.org.au).

We won! No planning permit required in Victoria!

In August, the Victorian Government finally reformed planning rules to make it possible for farms to build farmer- and community-controlled micro-abattoirs on-farm without the need for a planning permit.

These reforms are a crucial step toward rebuilding the intrinsic infrastructure of agroecology—the abattoirs, mills, and dairy processing facilities that will enable us to eat from our own regions again. They reflect the government’s growing awareness of the key differences between smallholders feeding locals and industrial titans feeding distant markets. The reforms recognise AFSA’s long-repeated point that a micro-abattoir is an ancillary use in the agricultural zones – not a change of use.

For too long, the centralisation of meat processing into a handful of massive facilities has stripped farmers of control over how our animals are killed, and steadily robbed communities of access to transparent, local, and accountable meat systems. With the Victorian reforms, that tide is turning.

It’s a victory for farmers, eaters, and allies who have pushed, petitioned, submitted, and insisted that the right to kill and process animals locally is a matter of food sovereignty, animal welfare, and community resilience.

AFSA will continue pushing for these reforms to roll out across the other states and territories, so join us if you want to help with the struggle!

Meat Collective Starter Pack

We have an extensive range of documentation shared by the Meat Collective @ Jonai to get started on your own project:

• Micro-abattoir building design
• Abattoir Construction Budget & Project Plan
• Draft OpEx
• Development Application
• Food safety program
• Meat collective governance
• Avoiding debt & funding your micro abattoir
• EMP/Waste Management

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: admin @ afsa.org.au

What have we achieved so far?

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Our friends at Sustainable Table have published the Ethical Meat Processing Guide, summarising key learnings from four online roundtables unpacking the abattoir crisis.
7. 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.