Restoring lifetime traceability for your newly received livestock in the NLIS

I’ve received a loss of LT warning for livestock just transferred onto my PIC. What has happened? 

If you receive a loss of LT warning when livestock are transferred onto your PIC, it means animals were not registered to the property (PIC) you bought or received them from. Most likely, you received Warning 21A to your email account if this is the case.  

This infographic explains what has happened in more detail. 

What does this mean? 

As the movement history is incomplete for these livestock, your new animals have now lost LT and you may be required to act to restore LT if this is important to you. 

Will this loss of LT affect my business? 

Each time livestock are moved off a property identification code (PIC), this livestock transfer must be recorded in the NLIS database. More about completing livestock transfers in the NLIS database. 

If transfers are not completed each time animals are moved off a PIC, the lifetime traceability of the animals will be lost. In markets like the EU, which require lifetime traceability, animals without LT are not eligible. 

If you require your livestock to have LT and you receive a loss of LT warning for newly purchased livestock, you may be able to restore the LT of these animals in the NLIS database.  If LT is not a requirement for the supply chain you sell into, you are not required to take action.  However, it is important to note that loss of LT could reduce the marketing options for these livestock. 

Loss of LT can also impact on the effective management of animal disease or food safety incidents, as past livestock movements will need to be tracked via movement documentation (such as NVDs) rather than via the NLIS database. 

How do I fix the problem as the receiver? 

If you receive the LT warning when livestock are transferred onto your PIC and you need to restore lifetime traceability:  

• Check the correct PIC has been entered in the ‘Vendor PIC’ section in the livestock transfer in the NLIS database.  

• If the incorrect PIC has accidentally been entered in the livestock transfer, follow these instructions to conduct a transfer correction. If a third party completed the transfer, they will need to complete the transfer correction. 

• If the ‘Vendor PIC’ is entered correctly and you need to restore LT, you can: 
  • roll the transfer back using the transfer correction process 
  • contact the sender and/or the agent who sold or sent you the livestock and ask if they can complete the missing livestock transfer/s
  • once the missing transfer is complete, re-transfer the animals to your PIC.