By Justin Toohey, Animal Health, Welfare and Biosecurity Advisor, Australian Dairy Farmers
What is changing?
- Antimicrobials can no longer be used to boost growth, yield or production in animals producing milk or milk products destined for EU supply chains.
- This rule applies to all imported products entering the EU supply chain.
What stays the same?
- Antimicrobials for disease prevention or control remain permitted.
- Products such as monensin and lasalocid can still be used for disease prevention or control.
Changes to the way the European Union regulates the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals will affect all Australian dairy farmers, not just those directly supplying the EU market.
From now on, antimicrobials can be used for disease prevention or control, but cannot be used to boost growth, yield or production across the dairy industry.
The changes include antibiotics and ionophores.
This extends to all dairy farmers, given Australia cannot practically separate milk or milk products destined for the EU from other markets.
The entire Australian dairy industry must comply in order for Australia to maintain access to EU markets from September 2026 onwards. In 2025, Australian dairy exports to the EU were valued at $29 million.
Examples of allowed uses of antimicrobials include preventing bloat, controlling coccidiosis and treating ketosis or mastitis.
If you’re using antimicrobials to treat or prevent disease, you can continue to do so.
What do farmers need to do?
To stay compliant and protect market access, farmers should act now.
- Review all veterinary drugs and feed additives used on farm to make sure they are being used only for disease treatment or prevention.
- Keep clear and accurate records of all veterinary drugs and feed additives used on farm. You should record what product was used and why it was used (disease or condition being treated or prevented). This is essential to demonstrate compliance with EU requirements. Periodic reviews of Australian farms and processing plants will be conducted by EU regulators to check compliance.
- Consult with a veterinarian or a nutritionist for further information if needed.
Regulators are also playing a role in preparing for this change.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is working with dairy processors to ensure readiness.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is reviewing antimicrobial labels to ensure they align with trade requirements.
Some antimicrobial compounds (such as flavophospholipol, lasalocid, monensin, narasin and salinomycin) are commonly described as feed additives or nutritional supplements; use of these compounds for such purposes will be inconsistent with EU requirements for product access.
Product labels allowing use for disease management are expected to remain unchanged, but claims relating to growth promotion or increased yield will be removed.