New requirements for all poultry owners announced

STARTING from early 2026, there will be new regulations for all poultry owners on how to care for and manage poultry in Victoria, as announced by Agriculture Victoria. 
The new requirements seek to improve poultry welfare and to provide certainty and confidence within the industry, the community and markets. 
All poultry producers or backyard poultry owners in Victoria, must comply with the regulations that are relevant to individual poultry owners once they commence, from early 2026.
The Poultry Welfare Standards set out a range of practice and infrastructure changes for chicken egg producers, including new furnishing and space allowance requirements for hens in cages.
These changes will allow hens to perform natural behaviours, such as standing at full height and perching and nesting, to improve their welfare. 
The standards allow for a choice of egg production systems including free range, pasture-based, barn, aviary and larger cages with furnishings (also known as furnished cages).
Mirboo Pastured Poultry owner, Ilan Goldman runs a small scale, sustainable poultry operation involving ethically grown chickens which are produced with no added chemicals   such as hormones, arsenic or antibiotics. 
"It's always nice to have improvements, but I'm already there, way beyond what they need," Ilan said about the new regulations. 
 "So, they got access to fresh grass every day. They're in small flocks. They're enclosed shelters that other wild birds or animals can't get access to."  
"It's very labour intensive and we monitor things; it's not just a few mega sheds where you've got a few cameras and a few sensors."  
Ilan said his farm is a different universe to other large-scale operations that exist and while the changes won't affect him, he believes it's a good thing overall.  
Alongside changes to cage infrastructure, space and furnishings, cages must have substrate, recommendations on light exposure and intensity will become mandated, and hens in multilevel aviaries must be easily accessible by workers.
Changes will apply to outdoor access with a reasonable number and size of access points needed to be available for poultry, access to appropriately located shade, shelter from predators and opportunities for birds to forage and scratch.
Additionally, poultry owners must take reasonable action to minimise access to poultry feed and drinking water by wild birds, to help prevent the spread of diseases and poultry must be adequately feathered before going outdoors.
For poultry in any type of housing system, incubators must be monitored during hatching, and hatchlings that are found outside the trays must be returned to the tray or placed in brooders as soon as possible; induced moulting must not be practiced, and poultry must not be plucked or undergo hot blade beak trimming   except in exceptional circumstances.
Where it is necessary to kill poultry outside of slaughtering establishments, a person must have the relevant knowledge, experience and skills to be able to humanely kill poultry and prevent undue suffering. 
A written contingency plan must also be developed by owners to minimise the impact of adverse events on poultry welfare in any type of housing system.  
These new regulations reflect the nationally agreed standards in the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry and follow consultation with the Victorian poultry industry from 2023 to 2025. 
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Domestic Fowl) Regulations 2016 will also be updated to mandate welfare standards for all poultry species.