Australia lumpy skin vaccines secured for farmers, Timor-Leste and PNG

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said although Australia remained free of LSD, the presence of the disease in the region remained a threat to Australia and its neighbours.

"With a small financial investment, we gain a massive return in biosecurity protection for Australian cattle," Senator Watt said.

"Access to vaccines is a longstanding part of our strategy to reduce risk offshore and build confidence in our response mechanisms.

"The agreement means we will have priority access to a high-quality vaccine that can be used quickly to protect Australian animals if we did need to respond to an outbreak, or that can be used overseas to reduce the risk to our near neighbours."

The LSD outbreak in Indonesia continues to disrupt the live cattle trade. Although Indonesia is once again accepting Australian cattle after easing concerns they were infected, authorities are turning away any cattle with skin blemishes.

Vaccines are a last resort and would only be used in the event of an outbreak, as the tests used by Australia's international trading partners to detect LSD cannot differentiate between the vaccine and the disease.

The doses will be held in a European vaccine bank, because Australia lacks the necessary facilities to safely store or create the vaccines. Australia's foot-and-mouth disease vaccines are also held in an overseas vaccine bank.

The contract, signed with MSD Animal Health, will run for four years. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has already issued an emergency use permit for the vaccine, should it become necessary.