Fines doubled for trespassing on Victorian farms as biosecurity measures ramped up

Under a new bill passed by Parliament this week, trespassers on Victorian farms now face fines of $23,077 for an individual and $115,386 for an organisation.

This was a doubling of the previous penalties.

The Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2024 was aimed at enabling Victoria to respond to ongoing and evolving threats from diseases, pests and weeds.

The new legislation also saw fines increase for farmers who do not follow the state's biosecurity and traceability requirements during a disease outbreak.

This includes any breach of movement restrictions under a control order, and for deliberately spreading an exotic disease.

However, farmers will also see improved compensation for the impact of emergency animal disease responses.

Parliament voted to ensure that there were fair payments for such farmers, tied to the market value of their stock.

The bill provided for more streamlined processes for farmers replacing livestock which were culled due to disease control.

Victoria Police were also recognised as livestock inspectors to enhance their ability to effectively investigate farm crimes involving livestock theft.

Inspectors received additional powers, including authority to direct vehicles in emergency animal disease outbreaks.

The legislation also made it an offence to possess livestock whose identification tags have been illegally removed or replaced.

This was aimed at protecting VIC's livestock traceability and access to export markets.

Alongside the ramped up legislation, the Labor government has invested $112.7 million in emergency animal disease preparedness this term.

Agriculture Minister Ros Spence said the new laws provided "stricter" penalties for non-compliance regarding disease control.

"It's critical we make changes now to create a more resilient biosecurity system for our state," she said.