7 mistakes to avoid when filling out your LPA NVD

Knowing how to fill out National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) so they are clear, complete and correct is essential to ensure the food safety, traceability and integrity of Australian red meat.  

Providing accurate information about your livestock on your NVD ensures that the entire supply chain can be sure that the meat you produce is safe to eat and of the highest quality.  

When an NVD is not clear, complete and correct, it is considered invalid and should not be accepted by the receiver of the livestock. NVDs are a legal document and so by law, they must be accurate.

Buyers rely on the NVD to have accurate information about the livestock they purchase. Processors also rely on NVDs being completed accurately to ensure only safe food is provided to consumers. False or misleading answers on NVDs can lead to prosecution and civil action by the buyer.

If you are found to have sent incorrect or incomplete NVDs with livestock dispatched from your property during a Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) audit, you may also be issued with a Corrective Action Request (CAR) you will need to resolve with the auditor.  

To ensure your NVD is clear, complete and correct, make sure you avoid the following mistakes when filling out your consignment form:  

1. Illegible handwriting 

If you are completing a hard copy NVD, make sure your writing is as clear and neat as possible. ISC recommends using the eNVD system – a fast, easy way to complete livestock consignments digitally – to ensure your NVD is always easy to read.  

2. Ticking both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ on a question 

When completing the NVD questions, you cannot tick both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in response to the one question. If the consignment contains livestock that meet both criteria e.g. home bred and purchased livestock, you must choose the option that addresses the risk. In this example, a mix of home bred and purchased livestock, you need to select that the consignment contains purchased livestock and then select the correct time frame for purchase.  

3. Not adding your signature  

You must sign the declaration on the NVD. By ticking the box and signing your NVD, you are pledging that the meat from your farm has been produced safely, ethically and meets biosecurity standards – it means you stand by what you sell.  An unsigned NVD is invalid. 

The transporter must also complete and sign Part B of the NVD in order for your NVD to be valid, except in Victoria, where the transport section can be left blank.  

4. Making major corrections   

If you make a minor mistake (e.g. change to number of head in the consignment) when filling out the NVD, cross out the mistake and write the correct information next to it. Only the person who has signed the NVD can correct a mistake and they must also put their initials next to the correction. If you make a major mistake on an NVD (e.g. incorrect description of livestock or destination details), start a new form. 

All NVDs where white-out has been used to correct a mistake are deemed invalid, to minimize the possibility of others amending your NVD on your behalf without your knowledge.  

5. Not completing all the NVD questions 

You must complete all questions on the NVD for your NVD to be valid. The NVD questions provide vital information about food safety and the husbandry of animals every time they move along the value chain – so answering them is vital to ensuring food safety, animal welfare and biosecurity within our industry. 

6. Using sample or photocopied NVDs 

You cannot use sample NVDs or NVD forms you have photocopied. If you are using a hard copy NVD, it must be from a hard copy NVD book for your PIC. Each PIC must use an NVD issued to that PIC and it cannot be used for other PICs. See here for advice on completing NVDs as an agistee.  

If you need to complete an LPA NVD in a hurry, the fast, free eNVD system is available 24/7 to create a digital version of the NVD using a computer, tablet or mobile phone. Watch this video to learn how to use an eNVD. Alternatively, log in to your LPA account via myMLA to start completing your eNVD now.  

7. Using one NVD for separate consignments 

You must use a separate NVD for each livestock consignment (livestock movement off your property) you complete. In most cases, this means that each load of livestock being transported to a different location (destination PIC) must be accompanied by its own NVD.  

If you are sending a mixed consignment (e.g. a mix of home bred and purchased livestock), you can use one NVD for this consignment, but the NVD must reflect the highest level of risk within the group, in this example -  livestock that have been purchased. Alternatively, if you can identify and/or separate the mixed consignment (and the receiver is aware of the split) you can use two NVDs –one for each group. In some cases, there may be a marketing advantage to doing this.  

Learn how to complete an NVD  

To learn how to complete an NVD so it is clear, complete and correct, watch this video below.