New Report Identifies Deep Challenges in Tasmania’s Local Meat Processing Sector
Media Release – 25 May 2025
Tasmania’s small-scale meat processing system requires critical reform to bring it back from breaking point.
As identified by a report undertaken by Sprout Tasmania, 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.
Drawing on input from over 145 farmers, butchers, abattoir operators and stakeholders, the report offers the most detailed picture to date of the bottlenecks, regulatory hurdles, and infrastructure gaps impacting small-scale livestock producers across the state.
Sprout Tasmania CEO Jennifer Robinson said the report helps quantify and qualify long-standing concerns from producers, particularly in southern Tasmania.
“This work reinforces what many farmers have been telling us for years — that the system is stretched to its limits and struggling to serve those who want to farm ethically, process locally, and supply their communities,” said Robinson. “The report gives us data, stories, and solutions — it’s a starting point for coordinated action.”
This report identifies the significant decline in access to service-kill processing for producers, leading to lost business and stalled new entrants. With only a small number of abattoirs offering multispecies service kills — many at or near capacity.
The report outlines 12 key actions for government, industry and community:
For Government:
1. Funding and support to secure multispecies service kill processing in the state.
Find ways to further provide funding and support to aid in securing processing across the entire state, including multispecies micro abattoirs, that adequately addresses the demand for service kills on a regional basis.
2. Commit to enabling small businesses engaging in the meat processing sector.
Develop and support an enabling culture both internally within the Government and externally that enhances efficiencies and fosters innovation within the sector to encourage novel business models and approaches. Commit to ensuring easy access to clear, up to date and relevant information in relation to livestock slaughter and processing. Genuinely engage and consult with small scale producers in relation to the roadmap guideline resources being developed as part of the cross sectoral working group, facilitated by Felicity Richards. Commit to implementing statutory response timelines for the review of abattoir enterprise applications by relevant departments. Establish a right of appeals process for applicants who have their abattoir applications declined (by departments that don’t currently have an appeals process).
3. Review related regulations & where appropriate make changes to ensure they are scale appropriate and outcomes focussed.
Review all relevant regulation and engage with the small scale sector to make any changes necessary to ensure it is scale appropriate, outcomes focused and not prescriptive.
For example (but not limited to):
State Planning Scheme – review of the definition of a small scale/micro abattoir within the planning scheme to ensure scale appropriate requirements such as smaller buffer zones for abattoirs.
Work with the relevant authority to determine clear specifications for a ‘special use building’ (Building Act 2016) as there are with other classes of building, and develop appropriate guidance material to assist producers to understand the practical implications and application process changes.
4. Increase appropriately skilled resources within Biosecurity Tasmania.
Urgently address the lack of required expertise and resources within Biosecurity Tasmania, particularly within the Product Integrity branch, to ensure there is the right number of staff with the appropriate skills to aid in the timely review of applications and support for producers.
Acknowledging that it is difficult to source appropriately skilled people in this sector in Tasmania.
5. Provide support for any scale Tasmanian processor.
The areas of support recommended would ideally cover:
Animal Welfare – as per #4 recommendation from the Tasmanian Livestock Processing taskforce.
Food safety – what needs to be done in order to comply
Slaughtering and meat processing – guidance around the appropriate flow of animals and meat products through a facility, in order for that facility to meet standards.
Waste processing – sharing information about best practice waste processing
6. Accessible qualifications to support the supply chain
Equitable and fit for purpose qualification opportunities in the various skills needed throughout the supply chain. Reviewing what is available and introducing scale appropriate skills.
For example: Work with a Tasmanian RTO to enable local delivery of the standard qualifications for meat inspecting and meat processing. The Functional controller approving the use of the Micro Abattoir meat processing qualification AMPMSY414 to be approved where appropriate for small scale abattoir facility operators/staff.
For Sprout
7. Innovative waste processing
Undertake a desktop research project collating innovative techniques for capturing abattoir waste on site, to value add or generate alternative products, used in other scale appropriate settings both in Australia and internationally.
8. Innovative abattoir models
Assist producers to look at various models for setting up a small scale abattoir.
9. Collaboration
Continue collaborating with any stakeholders that are keen to work together in this space, with the main outcome of increasing Tasmanian small scale farmers’ produce into the local food system.
10. Increasing knowledge and awareness amongst producers of best practice across the supply chain.
Develop support mechanisms to enhance producer acumen in this space.
For industry
11. Review of current intrastate logistics assets and mechanisms.
Map the location and movement of assets across the state and build out methodologies for efficient use of these assets, for cold supply chain provision (including carcass transporting).
12. Research to be undertaken on outdoor meat processing.
An appropriate research organisation to look at undertaking a research project that assesses the risk of pathogen contamination of meat products (including poultry) when an animal is slaughtered and dressed in an outdoor environment.
This project would look at what would need to be done in order to achieve the ‘outcome’ of any standards that currently apply to this activity. This collaborative project could involve Food Safety from The Dept of Health (Public Health) as well as a research body, a livestock producer and both abattoir and mobile butchery operators.
“This isn’t just a food system issue — it’s about rural jobs, animal welfare, local economies and Tasmania’s food sovereignty,” said Robinson. “We’ve now got the foundation for change — what’s needed next is leadership, collaboration and commitment to act.”
The full report can be found HERE
About Sprout Tasmania
Sprout Tasmania is a not-for-profit organisation deeply rooted in fostering sustainable agriculture and vibrant local food systems.