organization
Australian Animal Welfare Certification System
Australian processor welfare certification covering livestock receival through slaughter.
- About
- Owned by the Australian Meat Industry Council and administered by AUS-MEAT.
- Certifications
- Edition 4 is effective from January 1, 2026. Edition 5 takes effect April 1, 2027.
- Practices
- Requires effective stunning, animal-care monitoring and video surveillance of specified receiving-to-slaughter processes.
What certification covers
Covers livestock receival, handling, holding, stunning and slaughter. The certified processor perimeter does not cover the animal’s whole farm life or pre-arrival transport.
A processor welfare standard is useful assurance about that stage; it is separate from lifetime feed or pasture standards.
The wider TFI network includes programme-listed facilities; no Costco carton, actual audit result or supplying slaughterhouse is assigned here.
Sources
AAWCS Edition 4 and certification programme rules
AAWCS Edition 4 — processor scope and welfare controls
AAWCS certification programme rules — roles and eligibility, December 2021
Checked 2026-10-20
Video monitoring
Requires functional video surveillance across specified receiving-to-slaughter processes and at least one month of footage retention.
Video requirements support welfare oversight; a requirement is separate from an individual facility’s footage or audit findings.
No particular plant’s installation, footage or compliance outcome is established by this profile.
Sources
AAWCS Edition 4, clauses 5.2.10–11
AAWCS Edition 4 — clauses 5.2.10–11, printed page 14
Checked 2026-10-20
Current and future standards
Edition 4 applies from January 1, 2026. The issued Edition 5 takes effect on April 1, 2027.
Future provisions must be kept separate from the standard currently in force.
Publication of Edition 5 does not establish early implementation or an individual site audit.
Sources
AAWCS issued Editions 4 and 5
AAWCS Edition 4 — effective date
AAWCS Edition 5 — April 2027 effective date
Checked 2026-10-20
Researched October 21, 2026
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