Cattle Australia (CA) is calling for both parties to commit to an urgent injection of $3 million to bring a new Q Fever vaccine to market in the wake of rising case numbers in rural areas.

Q Fever is a disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella Burnetii, which infects both wild and domestic animals and their ticks, and these infections are transferable to humans through airborne pathways and/or animal handling practices.

The serious disease is Australia-wide and last year Victoria alone experienced five notified outbreaks between August and December 2024, and a total of 77 notified cases – more than double the State’s average annual incidence of the last five years.

Cattle Australia Chief Executive, Dr Chris Parker, said a new single dose vaccine under development by Australian researchers required urgent funding for final trials before commercialisation could occur.

The request for a Q Fever funding commitment is one of seven priority areas that CA is campaigning for ahead of this week’s Federal election, including a commitment to guarantee the future of live cattle exports.

“The release of a new vaccine needs to go hand in hand with a national program to protect cattle producers and meat workers, and to increase the number of GPs with an understanding of Q Fever and are registered to administer vaccinations,” Dr Parker said.

“The current process for Q Fever vaccination is difficult and results in too many people missing out on protection and the ability to work.”

The current Q-Vax vaccine contains live bacteria, which means people must be pre-tested to avoid adverse reactions. If cleared to proceed, people must then wait for seven days before they can be vaccinated – provided the GP can access the vaccine which is currently in short supply.

“These issues translate into new employees waiting for vaccines to become available and unable to commence work for three or four weeks,” Dr Parker said. “The process is also quite costly, with people required to pay for two GP visits, the vaccine and blood test.

“The new vaccine requires no pre-testing and as it is not a live vaccine, it can be stored by GPs for prolonged periods to overcome supply blockages.”

CA has also lobbied the major political parties to:

• guarantee the future of the live cattle export trade to secure the livelihoods of Australian producers and their communities, and improve food security in the region through the reinstatement of the Indonesia Australia Red Meat and Cattle Partnership
• enact truth in labelling laws that protect consumers from plant and cell-grown protein sources being described as meat
• include the biogenic methane cycle in national carbon accounting systems and invest $150 million in research on the role ruminants play to improve environmental outcomes
• deliver an accurate and up-to-date national dataset based on satellite mapping to demonstrate to consumers and trading partners the nature-positive role of agriculture to land use and biodiversity
• acknowledge Buffel Grass as a vital contributor to the economic viability and sustainable profitability of regional and rural Australia, and
• a sustainable funding model to support effective biosecurity, traceability and industry system, including user-pays charges on importers.

“The red meat supply chain employs more than 430,000 people domestically, meaning it is vital for rural and metropolitan voters alike to get behind good policy that supports the beef industry,” Dr Parker said.

“We call on all political parties to recognise their critical role and back these policy priorities to ensure they can continue to contribute positively to the economy, environment and food security.”

Key Statistics

• The Australian beef industry contributed to global food security by exporting more than 1.9 million tonnes of beef to more than 80 countries in 2024
• Cattle producers manage 50% of Australia’s land mass
• There are 136 different State, Territory, and Commonwealth laws relating to vegetation management
• There has been a net positive change in forest area on agricultural land each year since 2008.
• 36% of Australia’s forest is on land managed for conservation purposes – this places Australia in the top 10 countries globally for total protected forest area.
• Farmers spend $5.3 billion a year managing invasive plants, pests are diseases.

Source: Cattle Australia