Live sheep export ban secured in Australia’s 2025 Federal Election.

The Federal election campaign is over – and for sheep, the outcome could not be more significant.

With the re-election of the Albanese government in the 2025 Federal Election, one of the most important animal welfare reforms in our nation’s history is now secure: the legislated phase-out of live sheep export by sea.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of supporters who helped amplify this issue – through donations, by fuelling our ad blitz in battleground seats, and via direct engagement with candidates – a candidate who backs the phase-out was elected in nearly every seat we campaigned in. This is a powerful reminder that while animals cannot vote, caring Australians will do so on their behalf.

We are so grateful to everyone who donated to our billboards declaring Australian sheep have suffered enough, and to the hundreds of our supporters who helped lobby candidates in battleground seats.

The Coalition ran on a platform of keeping this unpopular trade alive. The landslide outcome – especially in Western Australia where the live export lobby campaigned fiercely against the ban – can only be seen as a definitive rejection of policies that promote animal cruelty. This moment solidifies the turning of the tide.

There are other policies that the Albanese government committed to, which will ensure animals are a key priority for the new parliament, including:

• Full implementation of the national Animal Welfare Strategy to improve standards and review outdated systems that entrench suffering for pigs, chickens and other farmed animals.

• Inclusion of animal welfare protections in international trade agreements.

• Expansion of the trophy hunting import ban to cover more protected species.

We are eager to work with the re-elected government – and the overwhelmingly animal-friendly crossbench – to ensure these and other much-needed reforms for animals are realised.

We are so grateful to our friends at the Australian Alliance for Animals and Stop Live Exports for uniting with us to ensure as many people as possible understood what was at stake for animals this election. While in many ways, the ‘real’ work starts now, we could not have a stronger foundation upon which to build the reforms that animals need and deserve.

While the legislative foundation for the sheep export phase-out is now secure, our work is not over until the day no animal is forced onto a live export ship. But today, we celebrate one of the most significant animal welfare reforms ever achieved globally.

Today, we celebrate a victory for compassion thanks to our supporters and everyone who kept animals front of mind at the ballot box.

We can now count down to 1 May 2028 with certainty – knowing from that day onwards not a single Australian sheep will set foot on a live export ship. While of course we wish this end date was much sooner, we also recognise the need to consider all who may be affected by this historic decision.

As the trade winds down, fewer Australian sheep will suffer at its hands. Since our very first investigation, the number of sheep exported live by sea each year has dropped by the millions – from 6 million annually, to less than 500,000.

Now, we can safely say that within three years, this number will be zero.