Draft Australian Standards on Electronic Animal Identification

22 Jan 2025

Australian Standards are currently consulting on standards relating to microchipping companion animals and horses. A number of AVA members have been working with Standards Australia on the updating, and both these members and the AVA encourage members to make their own submissions in support of the proposed changes. 

The key changes are:

  • To only use implantable microchips (and other RFID devices) fully conformant with the relevant ISO standards. Full conformance guarantees number uniqueness as well as the quality and performance of the implant itself.
  • A revised definition of a “scan” to increase the likelihood of a microchip being detected.
  • The need for all those dealing with strays to maintain access to transceivers (readers) capable of reading older (FDXA) technologies.
  • Decreasing the acceptable failure rate of microchips from 1:1000 to 1: 10,000.
  • The importance of correct implantation technique to minimise microchip migration.
  • The responsibility of the implanter to register the animal and all required information with an Australian microchip registry, registered to operate in the State r Territory in which the animal resides.
  • That the fee charged by the implanter should include lifetime registration on the registry to which information about the implanted dog or cat has been sent.
  • The need for an accessible chain of ownership for the microchip, from manufacture to the animal in which it is implanted, including importer, distributor, wholesaler, seller, implanter and animal owner.
  • Revised and updated requirements for the operation of microchip databases.

There are two related standards that are being consulted on. Members can comment on them both:

Please note,

  • Feedback closes 6 February
  • You will need to register on the Standards Australia website to comment
  • You will be asked to comment on each clause in the standard. If you have nothing specific to say, simply write ‘agree’
  • Comparison with the existing standards is very difficult as they cannot be downloaded, saved or distributed – they can only be accessed after purchase from Standards Australia (https://store.standards.org.au ).

If you have any queries or would like further information, please contact: publicvetaffairs@ava.com.au