Pre-budget submission 2023-24
Submission overview
Australia currently lacks a national framework for developing animal welfare policy and standards. As a consequence, progress on developing national standards has faltered and inconsistencies in implementation have increased, leading to impacts upon business, trade and market access, and Australia’s international standing.
In light of the low starting base, a relatively small investment in federal government budgetary terms, will provide significant returns for government, industry, and the Australian community. This submission proposes an investment of $72 million over four years ($9 million of which has already been committed by the current Government) to re-establish national leadership and Australia’s international reputation on animal welfare.
This includes renewing the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy, establishing a national Commission of Animal Welfare, and creating an Inspector-General for Animal Welfare. The proposed policies draw from current government policy commitments and the recommendations of the Australian Productivity Commission, and are broadly consistent with principles agreed to by Australian agriculture ministers.
For further background to these and other reforms, please see our report, Building a fairer Australia for animals.
Read our submission
In this submission, the Alliance for Animals makes a pre-budget submission proposing an investment in animal welfare of $72 million over four years.