MLA at a glance
Our purpose
To deliver world leading outcomes that fuel global competitiveness, sustainability and producer profitability.
Our vision
Enduring prosperity for the Australian red meat and livestock industry.
Our mission
To collaborate with stakeholders to invest in research, development and marketing initiatives that contribute to producer profitability, sustainability and global competitiveness.
Our values
1. Integrity at heart
a. We are unwavering in our commitment to our stakeholders.
2. Stronger Together
a. We embrace diversity and collaborate to deliver impact for our stakeholders.
3. Future Focused
a. We strive to continuously improve and push boundaries towards a better future.
Our strategic plan
MLA’s Strategic Plan 2025 sets out the priorities, strategic focus areas and guiding principles to help:
- double the value of Australian red meat sales
- Australian red meat become the trusted source of highest quality protein.
The MLA Strategic Plan 2025 uses the Australian red meat industry’s 10 year strategic plan, Red Meat 2030, as its foundation. The Plan is also based on the Australian Government’s Science and Research Priorities and Rural RD&E Priorities.
Our Board
The MLA Board’s nine directors combine a broad range of skills, experience and expertise to set strategic priorities for the company and approve and monitor progress against MLA’s Strategic Plan 2025.
What we do
MLA’s purpose is to foster the long-term prosperity of the Australian red meat and livestock industry by investing in research and marketing activities.
Through our subsidiary companies, we also accelerate innovation across the value chain and deliver the industry’s integrity and on-farm quality assurance programs.
Our subsidiary companies
MLA owns two subsidiary companies:
MLA Donor Company accelerates innovation across the value chain so the Australian red meat and livestock industry can remain competitive on the world stage. It does this by attracting commercial investment from individual enterprises and others that share a mutual interest to co-invest in innovation that will benefit the industry.
Integrity Systems Company is responsible for delivering the red meat and livestock industry’s traceability and quality assurance systems: the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program, National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) and the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).
How we deliver
MLA has a number of business units, each led by a General Manager.
How we are funded
MLA is primarily funded by transaction levies paid on livestock sales by producers and are used to support marketing, research and development activities. MLA also receives matching funding from the Australian Government, unmatched grants and co-investment from other industry stakeholders.
Who we serve
MLA works in partnership with the red meat industry and the Australian Government to deliver marketing, research and development products and services to beef cattle, sheep and goat producers, with the core purpose of fostering the prosperity of the red meat industry.
Our staff
As at 30 June 2023, MLA has 290 employees both internationally and domestically. MLA’s workforce profile reflects a balanced gender profile and age distribution across the organisation. More than 50% of employees are from a rural background.
Our history
MLA was established in 1998 as a public company limited by guarantee, following the merging of two industry statutory organisations – the Australian Meat & Livestock Corporation and the Meat Research Corporation.
MLA is the declared industry marketing body and the industry research body under sections 60(1) and 60(2) of the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.
