Ten years after the Productivity Commission first recommended establishing a National Animal Welfare Commission, new independent economic analysis has found the reform would not only improve Australia’s animal welfare system but also save governments millions of dollars.
A new Business Case released today by Frontier Economics finds that establishing a National Animal Welfare Commission would generate around $3.5 million in annual savings across Commonwealth and state governments by reducing duplication, streamlining regulatory processes and creating a more efficient national approach to developing animal welfare policy.
Commissioned by the Australian Alliance for Animals, the report comes a decade after the Productivity Commission identified significant shortcomings in Australia’s animal welfare governance and standards development framework.
Australian Alliance for Animals Director of Policy, Dr Jed Goodfellow, said the report demonstrates the case for reform has never been stronger.
“Australia’s animal welfare system isn’t just slow – it’s fundamentally broken, and has stopped delivering the timely, nationally consistent reforms that governments, industry and the community expect.”
“For ten years we’ve had a recommendation from one of Australia’s most respected economic institutions sitting on the shelf. Today we have independent economic analysis showing that implementing that recommendation would actually save governments money.”
The Frontier Economics analysis found Australia’s current system is characterised by duplication, fragmentation and lengthy delays.
More than twenty years after work began to replace outdated national Model Codes of Practice with Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines, only one national standard has been fully implemented across every state and territory. The process takes an average of nine years from commencement to implementation, while some reviews have stalled altogether because no jurisdiction has volunteered to lead them.
One example highlighted in the report is the review of the national Code of Practice for the Welfare of Pigs, which has remained on governments’ national work program for almost a decade without any jurisdiction volunteering to undertake the review.
“Every year that important reforms are delayed is another year that millions of animals continue suffering from outdated standards. Australian governments can, and should, do better,” Dr Goodfellow said.
The proposed National Animal Welfare Commission would undertake the specialist work of developing nationally consistent, evidence-based standards while state and territory jurisdictions retain responsibility for legislation, implementation and enforcement.
“This reform is about giving governments a better system to work with – one that reduces duplication, provides independent scientific expertise and helps jurisdictions develop and implement national standards more efficiently,” Dr Goodfellow said.
The Frontier Economics analysis found the Commission would deliver net benefits to the Australian community, with quantified benefits exceeding costs, while additional benefits – including improved animal welfare outcomes, greater national consistency and enhanced international reputation – are expected to further strengthen the case for reform.
“Good animal welfare policy should be evidence-based, nationally coordinated and economically responsible.”
“This report shows a National Animal Welfare Commission delivers on all three. It’s good policy, it has strong public support, and now we know it also makes economic sense,” Dr Goodfellow said.
The Australian Alliance for Animals will officially launch the Business Case during a public webinar today, featuring a presentation by Frontier Economics on the report’s key findings.
BACKGROUND
- The webinar will be held at 12.30 pm AEST today, after which the Business Case report will be released. Register here.
- The Productivity Commission report can be found here.
- National polling conducted by BehaviourWorks Australia in February 2026 found that nearly 80% of Australians support an independent authority overseeing animal welfare policy: https://www.allianceforanimals.org.au/animal-welfare-policy-survey-results
