SAFEMEAT Advisory Group chairman Andrew Henderson said SAFEMEAT had been at pains to acknowledge that individual digital or electronic identification (EiD) for sheep was one part of a broader reform process.
"We acknowledge sheep EiD is a vitalliy important part of reform, but it's not the panacea in and of itself," he said.
"We need to make sure we've got the rest of the system in place for this process to be effective."
Mr Henderson said now was the time for producer bodies to go out to consult with their members on this.
"Because we want to make sure members are made sure of where we are up to.
"That they are not going to get spooked by this as they are a part of the conversation and give input.
"They have the opportunity to consider these policy questions themselves at their various producer association meetings or individually."
He said the process was much bigger than EiD.
"Ensuring our traceability system as a whole is fit-for-purpose is critically important and significant to the whole country and the future of the sector and the economy and EiD is just one part of that picture."
Mr Henderson said SAFEMEAT took a lot of time at the beginning of this process to understand the breadth of people's concerns about the system as a whole.
"That's why the recommendations for reforming our traceability system are all interdependent," he said.
"And that's really important because while the evidence tells us that individual EiD is clearly the next step - it forms a part of the broader solution.
"The evidence tells us EiD in Victoria is ultimately meeting the livestock traceability performance standards, and that evidence confirms this to be the logical next step to take to improve the security of our trade and market access."
