Keeping hens · State rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Tasmania, Australia?

NRE Tasmania says registering domestic and backyard birds is optional, and so is a PIC for poultry; whether poultry have been declared identifiable livestock wasn't established.

Read from 10 official sources55 passages quotedChecked October 26, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Not established

State keeping rule

Rule with conditions

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule identified

A sourced reading of the law in Tasmania, Australia, not legal advice. Local bylaws and zoning, property or tenancy rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local rules before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Not established from the sources checked

Jurisdiction: Tasmania

Applies to: Domestic and backyard poultry keepers in Tasmania; NRE Tasmania’s optional bird registration and property identification codes (PICs).

Outside this finding's scope

  • The domestic-bird registration form is not for commercial poultry producers.
  • No registration duty for poultry keepers was found in the sources read. Whether the Minister has declared poultry to be identifiable livestock under regulation 12 was not established.

What the checked sources say

  • NRE Tasmania says registering domestic birds is optional but helps its tracing teams in an avian influenza outbreak. Its form is for people who keep domestic or pet birds and backyard or hobby poultry; commercial poultry producers should not use it. Its bird-owner page strongly recommends registering any pet bird you keep to receive biosecurity updates.
  • For keepers in a rural area with a larger flock, the bird-owner page points to the PIC system, which it says is important in a disease outbreak or so you can be contacted quickly, and free of charge for registering birds. The page gives no number for a larger flock.
  • NRE’s PIC page says applying for a PIC for poultry is an option and PIC fees do not apply to it; PIC fees apply only to identifiable livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and pigs).
  • The Biosecurity (Livestock Traceability) Regulations 2024 say livestock includes poultry, but identifiable livestock means cattle, pigs, goats and sheep, plus any livestock the Minister declares under regulation 12.

Authority: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tasmania)

Fee: NRE Tasmania says PIC fees do not apply to poultry and registering birds is free of charge.

The official wording

  • Registering your domestic birds is optional, but will help our tracing teams in the event of an Avian Influenza outbreak.

    Register your domestic or kept birds · Checked

  • This form is intended for: individuals who keep domestic or pet birds backyard or hobby poultry keepers Commercial poultry producers should not use this form.

    Register your domestic or kept birds, form scope · Checked

  • It is strongly recommended to register any pet bird you keep to receive biosecurity updates.

    Register your birds · Checked

  • If you're in a rural area and have a larger flock: The PIC system is important for situations where there is a disease outbreak, or you can be contacted quickly. It’s free of charge for registering birds:

    Register your birds, second method · Checked

  • You have the option to apply for a PIC for other primary produce such as horses, poultry, alpacas, farmed deer (i.e. not sheep, goats, cattle or pigs). PIC fees do not apply for other primary produce.

    PICs for other primary produce · Checked

  • PIC fees only apply for identifiable livestock – cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.

    PIC Fees, statement below table · Checked

  • identifiable livestock means – (a) cattle, pigs, goats and sheep; and (b) any livestock declared by the Minister to be identifiable livestock in accordance with regulation 12 ;

    regulation 3, identifiable livestock · Checked

  • livestock includes any bovid animal, camelid animal, equine animal, porcine animal or poultry;

    regulation 3, livestock · Checked

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-26

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Conditions apply to this finding

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: Tasmania

Applies to: Emergency orders and biosecurity directions under Tasmania’s Biosecurity Act 2019, which can require animals, including farmed and kept birds, to be isolated, confined or detained, and NRE Tasmania’s August 2026 response plan describing how a housing order would work.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The plan describes how a housing order would work; it does not show that one has been issued. NRE’s advice to house birds where practical is advice, not an order.
  • Whether any housing order or direction applies now was not established.

What the checked sources say

  • The Minister may by order declare a biosecurity emergency and set emergency measures for the emergency zones and people the order names. Emergency measures may require the isolation, confinement or detention of any biosecurity matter, which includes animals. An emergency order lasts for the period it states, up to 6 months from when it is made, and the Minister may extend it by an amending order for further periods of up to 6 months each, as many times as the Minister considers necessary.
  • An individual biosecurity direction from the Secretary or an authorised officer may also require isolation, confinement or detention, and a general biosecurity direction from the Secretary or the Chief Veterinary Officer may prohibit, regulate or control any activity in connection with biosecurity matter.
  • NRE Tasmania’s response plan (Version 6, August 2026) describes a housing order as the legal requirement to keep commercially farmed and kept birds within a designated area separated from wild birds by the most effective means possible. It says an order would cover an area at higher risk, would be issued as an emergency (general) biosecurity direction by the Chief Veterinary Officer, and would stay in place for at least three weeks.
  • Under the plan, a commercial free-range chicken farm under a housing order must confine its flock to sheds, provided welfare requirements for space and ventilation can be maintained; farmers whose mobile shelters cannot house flocks for long must consider other ways to keep their flocks away from wild birds.
  • Whether a housing order applies now was not established; check NRE Tasmania’s bird flu page. The Chief Veterinary Officer issues general directions and the Minister makes emergency orders.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

  • In this Act, biosecurity matter includes the following: (a) an animal, plant, and other organism, other than a human;

    section 12(a) · Checked

  • The Minister may, by order – (a) declare a biosecurity emergency; and (b) establish measures to respond to that biosecurity emergency.

    section 163(1) · Checked

  • (b) the emergency zone or zones to which the order relates; (c) the emergency measures to be followed in the biosecurity emergency; (d) the persons or class of persons to whom the emergency measures apply;

    section 163(2)(b)–(d) · Checked

  • (1) An emergency order remains in force for the period specified in the order, not exceeding 6 months from the date on which the order is made.

    section 164(1) · Checked

  • (7) Emergency measures may include, but are not limited to, provisions that prohibit, regulate or control, or that require or authorise, any of the following:

    section 168(7) opening · Checked

  • (d) the isolation, confinement or detention of any biosecurity matter or other thing;

    section 168(7)(d) · Checked

  • (6) Without limiting the generality of this Division, an individual biosecurity direction may include provisions that prohibit, regulate or control, or that require, any of the following:

    section 194(6) opening · Checked

  • (b) the isolation, confinement or detention of any biosecurity matter or other thing;

    section 194(6)(b) · Checked

  • (2) A relevant officer may, in a general biosecurity direction, prohibit, regulate or control the carrying out of any activity in connection with biosecurity matter, a carrier or a potential carrier.

    section 191(2) · Checked

  • (a) in relation to a general biosecurity direction, the Secretary, the Chief Veterinary Officer or the Chief Plant Protection Officer; and (b) in relation to an individual biosecurity direction, the Secretary or an authorised officer;

    section 3(1), relevant officer · Checked

  • Version 6 – August 2026

    page footer · Checked

  • A housing order is the legal requirement to keep commercially farmed and kept birds within a designated area and separated from contact with wild birds, by the most effective means possible.

    Version 6, August 2026, page 22, Housing order · Checked

  • A housing order would apply to a certain area where commercial and kept birds are at higher risk of infection from the wild bird population.

    Version 6, August 2026, page 22, Housing order, second paragraph first sentence · Checked

  • It would be issued in the form of an emergency (general) biosecurity direction by the Chief Veterinary Officer under the Biosecurity Act 2019 and would be kept in place for at least three weeks.

    Version 6, August 2026, page 22, Housing order, second paragraph second sentence · Checked

  • A commercial free range chicken farm under a housing order is required to confine the flock to sheds, provided animal welfare requirements for space and ventilation can be maintained.

    Version 6, August 2026, page 22, Housing order, third paragraph first sentence · Checked

  • Farmers with mobile shelters such as caravans that cannot house flocks for extended periods must consider other options to separate flocks from wild bird contact.

    Version 6, August 2026, page 22, Housing order, third paragraph second sentence · Checked

  • Current situation

    Current situation heading · Checked

  • House your birds where practical

    How to protect your birds, bullet · Checked

  • (2) The Minister may, by making an order that amends an emergency order, extend the period during which an emergency order remains in force for a further period not exceeding 6 months.

    section 164(2) · Checked

  • (3) The duration of an emergency order may be extended under subsection (2) as many times as the Minister considers necessary.

    section 164(3) · Checked

Small-flock welfare minimums

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Tasmania

Applies to: General duties under Tasmania’s Animal Welfare Act 1993 for live chickens, including privately kept flocks, as shown on the Tasmanian legislation site’s in-force view on 26 October 2026.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The section 4 exclusions (usual and reasonable hunting and fishing, and approved animal research in a licensed institution) are specific to sections 8 to 10 and are not a general exemption for flocks.
  • Whether the poultry regulations’ enclosure rule reaches privately kept hens was not established, so no numerical enclosure standard is stated for private flocks.

What the checked sources say

  • The Act covers any live vertebrate animal other than a human. A person has the care or charge of an animal if they own it or have control, possession or custody of it, and more than one person can have it. A person with care or charge must take all reasonable measures to ensure the animal’s welfare, and must not use a method of management reasonably likely to cause unreasonable and unjustifiable pain or suffering.
  • Under section 8(2)(e), a person with possession or custody of an animal that is confined, constrained or otherwise unable to provide for itself commits cruelty if they fail to provide appropriate and sufficient food, drink, shelter or exercise. Drink must keep the animal hydrated at all times; shelter must protect it from the adverse effects of weather; food must keep it in reasonable body condition (allowing for growth and reproduction where appropriate) and be given as often as its digestion and metabolism need.
  • Sections 8 to 10 do not apply to usual and reasonable hunting or fishing practices that cause no excess suffering and are not prohibited, and sections 8 and 9 do not apply to animal research in a licensed institution done with Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee approval, under its approved procedures and a research code of practice.
  • The Animal Welfare (Domestic Poultry) Regulations (No. 2) 2023 say a person must not keep laying fowls (female hens of at least 18 weeks) in an enclosure unless listed conditions are met, with an exception for cage egg producers within their maximum hen capacity. NRE Tasmania says these regulations apply to all commercial egg and poultry producers; whether they also reach privately kept hens was not established.
  • NRE Tasmania says the poultry guidelines are not enforceable and offer recommended practices, and that Tasmania intends to adopt the national poultry standards into regulation; that intention is not treated as a rule now in force.

The official wording

  • animal means – (a) any live vertebrate animal other than a human being; or

    section 3, animal definition · Checked

  • For the purposes of this Act, a person is taken to have the care or charge of an animal if the person – (a) is the owner of the animal; or (b) has control, possession or custody of the animal; or

    section 3A(1)(a)–(b) · Checked

  • One or more persons may have the care or charge of an animal.

    section 3A(2) · Checked

  • A person who has the care or charge of an animal has a duty to take all reasonable measures to ensure the welfare of the animal.

    section 6 · Checked

  • A person who has the care or charge of an animal or group of animals must not use a method of management of the animal or group which is reasonably likely to result in unreasonable and unjustifiable pain or suffering to the animal or an animal in the group.

    section 7 · Checked

  • has possession or custody of an animal that is confined, constrained or otherwise unable to provide for itself and fails to provide the animal with appropriate and sufficient food, drink, shelter or exercise;

    section 8(2)(e) · Checked

  • in relation to the provision of drink, that fluids of sufficient quality are provided in sufficient quantity to keep the animal hydrated at all times; or

    section 8(3), appropriate and sufficient (b) · Checked

  • in relation to the provision of shelter, that shelter which affords protection for the animal from the adverse effects of weather conditions is provided;

    section 8(3), appropriate and sufficient (c) · Checked

  • in relation to the provision of food to an animal, that food of sufficient quality is provided – (i) in sufficient quantity to meet the nutritional requirements of maintaining the animal in reasonable body condition and, if appropriate, allowing for growth and reproduction; and

    section 8(3), appropriate and sufficient (a)(i) · Checked

  • as often as appropriate for the digestive system and metabolism of the animal; or

    section 8(3), appropriate and sufficient (a)(ii) · Checked

  • Sections 8 , 9 and 10 do not apply to practices used in the hunting of animals done in a usual and reasonable manner and without causing excess suffering unless the practices are prohibited by this or any other Act.

    section 4(1) · Checked

  • Sections 8 , 9 and 10 do not apply to practices used in – (a) recreational fishing; or (b) angling; or (c) commercial fishing – done in a usual and reasonable manner and without causing excess suffering unless the practices used are prohibited by this or any other Act.

    section 4(2) · Checked

  • Sections 8 and 9 do not apply to any animal research carried out in a licensed institution if that research is carried out – (a) with the approval of the Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee; and

    section 4(3), opening and (a) · Checked

  • (b) in accordance with any procedures approved by the Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee; and (c) in accordance with a Code of Practice relating to animal research.

    section 4(3)(b)–(c) · Checked

  • A person must not keep laying fowls in an enclosure unless –

    regulation 5(3), opening · Checked

  • hen means a domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus ; laying fowl means a female hen of at least 18 weeks of age;

    regulation 3 · Checked

  • This regulation does not apply to laying fowls kept in cages by a cage egg producer if the cage egg producer keeps laying fowls in cages in a quantity that is equal to, or less than, the maximum hen capacity for that cage egg producer.

    regulation 5(2) · Checked

  • These Regulations apply to all commercial egg and poultry producers - whether their birds are caged, free-range or housed in barns.

    Poultry Welfare, opening · Checked

  • however, these are not enforceable, instead they offer ​recommended practices to achieve desirable animal welfare outcomes.

    Poultry Welfare, guidelines paragraph · Checked

  • It is intended that Tasmania adopts these standards into regulation in line with the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy's National Harmonisation of Animal Welfare Scheme.

    Poultry Welfare, national standards paragraph · Checked

Rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Tasmania

Applies to: The general biosecurity duty in Tasmania’s Biosecurity Act 2019, which applies to anyone dealing with biosecurity matter, including keeping animals, who knows or reasonably ought to know of a biosecurity risk; and NRE Tasmania’s bird-owner advice.

Outside this finding's scope

  • No statewide permission or ban on keeping chickens was found in the Biosecurity Act 2019 and Animal Welfare Act 1993 provisions read. Council by-laws and planning rules were not read, and who sets local rules was not established.
  • NRE’s precautions for bird owners are advice, not separate legal duties.

What the checked sources say

  • A person has a general biosecurity duty to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent, eliminate or minimise biosecurity risk when dealing with biosecurity matter or a carrier, if they know or reasonably ought to know it poses a biosecurity risk, and must comply with that duty. Dealing includes keeping or managing biosecurity matter, which includes animals.
  • NRE Tasmania says bird flu is a notifiable animal disease and you must report it if you suspect a bird or other animal is infected.
  • NRE Tasmania advises bird owners to make sure wild birds cannot reach their birds’ food and water, not to use water from sources wild birds also use, and to quarantine new birds before introducing them to the flock; the advice gives no quarantine period.

The official wording

  • (1) A person has a duty (the general biosecurity duty) to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent, eliminate or minimise, biosecurity risk when dealing with biosecurity matter, or a carrier, if the person knows or reasonably ought to know that the biosecurity matter, carrier or dealing poses a biosecurity risk.

    section 70(1) · Checked

  • (a) keeps or manages the biosecurity matter or carrier; or

    section 14(1)(a) · Checked

  • (2) A person must comply with the general biosecurity duty when dealing with biosecurity matter or a carrier.

    section 71(2) · Checked

  • Bird flu is a notifiable animal disease - you must report it if you suspect a bird or other animal is infected.

    We need your help · Checked

  • Make sure wild birds cannot access the same food and water supply as your birds. Don’t use water from sources wild birds also use.

    How to protect your birds · Checked

  • Quarantine new birds before introducing them to your flock.

    How to protect your birds · Checked

  • In this Act, biosecurity matter includes the following: (a) an animal, plant, and other organism, other than a human;

    section 12(a) · Checked

Selling eggs in Tasmania, Australia? →Licence, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Licence: depends

Elsewhere in Australia

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Tasmania, Australia?
Registration: not established. The finding covers: Domestic and backyard poultry keepers in Tasmania; NRE Tasmania’s optional bird registration and property identification codes (PICs). Outside this finding's scope: The domestic-bird registration form is not for commercial poultry producers. No registration duty for poultry keepers was found in the sources read. Whether the Minister has declared poultry to be identifiable livestock under regulation 12 was not established. Authority: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tasmania).
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Tasmania, Australia?
The sources we read don't settle it, and we haven't identified who decides. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Tasmania, Australia?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

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