The Effluent Code – what it means for livestock producers

The Effluent Code is a registered industry code of practice about managing livestock effluent during road transport to prevent load loss.

‘Managing effluent in the livestock supply chain’ or the ‘Effluent Code’ was registered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) in December 2022.

The code was sponsored by the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) and developed with guidance from the NHVR as well as input from a stakeholder working group.

Chain of Responsibility

The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) establishes duties for parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) to ensure the safety of heavy vehicle transport activities. The flow on effect is that managing livestock effluent loss in transit is the responsibility of all parties in the supply chain, including off road parties who, for example, can influence transporters’ vehicle and route choices, or the way livestock are prepared for transport.

Risk Management

The Effluent Code recommends a risk management approach and provides information about the factors that lead to livestock effluent accumulation in trailers, effluent spillage, and load restraint breaches.

When developing the Effluent Code, ALRTA worked with industry representatives from across the whole of the supply chain to identify what would be reasonably practicable for parties to do to manage the safety risks arising from effluent loss in transit.

What’s in the code?

The Code provides industry-specific, relevant, practical advice about activities to help eliminate or minimise effluent spills during road transport.

This includes:

• choosing a livestock transporter;
• forming contracts;
• preparing livestock for transport;
• loading livestock and
• managing livestock destinations.

Some key messages for producers transporting livestock

• It’s important to communicate with supply chain partners about livestock preparation and the planned journey.
• Be aware of the factors to consider in implementing a curfew or offering good quality dry feed.
• Minimise livestock stress before and during loading by using best practice animal handling techniques to reduce stress induced livestock effluent production.
• Consider providing safe and efficient facilities such as yards and ramps that meet the Australian Standard (AS5340:2020), truck washes and effluent disposal points.

If you influence or control livestock transport activities, you should consider whether the controls listed in the Effluent Code would be reasonably practicable for you to adopt.

Read the Effluent Code

You can download a copy of the code from the NHVR website, where you will also find a list of FAQs and an information brochure.

Host a workshop to find out more

Interested groups can book a free Effluent Code interactive workshop presented by speakers from ALRTA and NHVR.

For more information about the Effluent Code contact:

ALRTA - Telephone: 02 6247 5434
Email: office@alrta.org.au