Victoria has awarded A$13.78 million through its 2026 Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program for 36 projects intended to strengthen livestock health, preparedness and industry resilience across the state.
The funding is directed at practical work involving animal health, farm access, commercial beekeeping and livestock transport. It is designed to support efforts to prevent, detect and respond to pests and diseases affecting livestock industries, rather than to mark the completion of those projects.
Projects span several livestock sectors
One successful project is the Victorian Apiary Resilience and Development initiative. Its 12-month programme is intended to help commercial beekeepers improve honeybee health and productivity while building resilience against biosecurity threats. The work includes attention to American foulbrood and varroa mite, both of which can affect beekeeping operations.
The University of Melbourne is to develop a project on piglet coccidiosis. The work is intended to create a Victorian evidence base across swine production systems, with the aim of improving understanding of piglet gut health and production outcomes. It does not amount to a new treatment or a guarantee of a particular result for individual farms.
The Victorian Farmers Federation is also to develop a Farm Access Credential. The proposed short online course is intended for people whose work brings them on to Victorian farmland but who are not employed in agriculture. It is designed to help such visitors enter farms safely and responsibly while observing biosecurity practices.
Truck-wash work remains at an early stage
The package also supports a Regional Truck Wash Upgrade Grants Program. That programme is aimed at improving truck-wash infrastructure and effluent-disposal services used by cattle, sheep and goat transporters in regional Victoria. The stated goals include better capacity, accessibility, safety and operation of the network, alongside disease preparedness and environmental compliance.
Not every proposed truck-wash improvement has been approved for construction. The first stage is an expression-of-interest process, with no funding provided at that point. Information gathered during that stage is intended to help shape the next phase, including the scope, location, costs and readiness of possible projects. Selected applicants may then be invited to make detailed applications for planning work or infrastructure development. The later-stage arrangements and funding details are still to be confirmed.
This distinction matters because the wider A$13.78 million grant decision covers a range of work at different stages. Some initiatives involve research or training, while the truck-wash element has a separate process for identifying projects that could proceed. The announcement should therefore not be read as confirmation that a new or upgraded wash facility will be built in every regional area.
Industry-funded programme
The Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program is funded through duties connected with the sale of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, as well as their carcasses, in Victoria. Beekeeper registration fees also contribute. Applications for the 2026 round were assessed through livestock advisory committees covering cattle, sheep and goats, swine and honeybees.
The 36 funded projects bring together a broad set of measures, from animal-health research and beekeeper support to visitor training and transport infrastructure. Their common purpose is to strengthen readiness across the livestock sector. The immediate development is the grant award itself; the practical effects will depend on how the individual projects are developed and delivered over time.
