Electronic identification tags for animals serve as a vital tool in managing pets and in reuniting lost pets with their owners. Electronic identification tags for animals are small (RFID) devices (microchips) with unique identification numbers that when implanted in dogs, cats or other pet animals are used to identify the animals, the owners, and the property address where they live. The devices, scanners and the registry that stores the data and facilitates the beneficial outcome of the identification system is subject to state laws in Australia and administered through local governments. This system must conform to two Australian Standards that have been updated and are open for Public Comment until 6 February 2025:
DR AS 5018:2024 Electronic animal identification – National coding scheme
DR AS 5019:2024 Electronic animal identification – Radiofrequency methods
Standards Australia encourages views and input from a wide cross section of the public on a draft publication during the Public Comment stage. Create a free account when you Login to Drafts Open for Public Comment and search for the drafts of DR AS 5018:2024 andDR AS 5019:2024. It is open for Public Comment until 6 February 2025. More information on How to Open, Browse, and Comment on a draft standards in the Standard Australia Public Comment Portal Help Guide. These Standards were prepared by the Standards Australia Committee EL-070 Animal identification and are an adoption with national modifications, and have been reproduced from ISO 11784:2024, and ISO 11785:1996.
As part to the CFA Standards Project, CFA supports a representative to the Standards Australia committee EL-070 which prepared the draft standards. The representative ensures the impact on consumers is always a central part of committee considerations, giving the Australian consumer greater confidence in the products, services, and systems they use. Find out more about consumers and standards and how you can get FREE limited access to Australian standards. Find out how you can Volunteer as a Representative of CFA on a Standards Australia committee.
The above article was written by CFA’s Standards Project Coordinator Regina Godfredson.