Harmonisation of supplier accreditation and auditing requirements for red meats
09 September 2026
Focus area: Compliance and industry standards
Program stream: Growth and global competitiveness
Project number: 2026-1030
This report outlines opportunities to reduce the high costs and disruption imposed on the Australian red meat processing industry by the labyrinthine compliance burden imposed by government agencies, importing countries and commercial clients.
The mapping of industry’s most commonly required standards has verified the extent of duplication, indicating instances of more than 95 per cent duplication requiring 3,233 audit days across industry, averaging 42 days per establishment.
The estimated direct cost to industry is $98,973,268 per annum, which equates to almost $1.3 million per establishment.
This project has identified five potentially viable harmonisation pathways for industry to pursue.
