A TASMANIAN rebate for electronic identification sheep and goat ear tags, and goat leg bands, has been extended to all available year colours, enabling producers to identify older sheep and goats with tags of the recommended year colour.

The rebate has been extended to cover nine National Livestock Identification Scheme accredited tags of the recommended year colours of orange (2026), white (2025), black (2024), sky blue (2023), red (2022), yellow (2021) and pink (post breeder).

Under the Tasmanian EID tag rebate, a $1 rebate per tag is available at the point of sale for eligible EID tags, with a $4 rebate for goat leg bands, running from 1 June 2024 to 30 June 2026

Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Gavin Pearce, said the expansion of the rebate scheme will enable more producers to get access before it wraps up on 30 June 2026.

In Tasmanian, all sheep and goats born on or after 1 January 2025 must be tagged with an accredited EID device before leaving their property of birth, preferably as per the year-of-birth tag color system. From 1 January 2027, all sheep and goats leaving a property must be fitted with an EID, regardless of age or destination.

“This rebate scheme was introduced by our government to support industry as we transition to mandatory EID for sheep and goats,” Mr said.

“Expanding the scheme now will give our farmers a better opportunity to get stuck into EID tagging before permanent changes roll out at the beginning of 2027.

“I’m pleased to see how successful the scheme has been, with some 3 million sheep and goat EID tags sold since 2024,” he said.

He said the scheme has been supported by a $2.8 million investment over two years. The tag rebate scheme opened on 1 June 2024.

For more information visit the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania website: www.nre.tas.gov.au/tagrebate