Western Australia Raw Milk Laws & Regulations

Raw goat milk can be sold in Western Australia. The state has made the express provision the national dairy standard allows, and raw milk cheese is legal here as everywhere in Australia.

Is raw milk legal in Western Australia?

Raw goat milk is. Regulation 8 of the Food Regulations 2009, made under the Food Act 2008, is headed "FSC standard 4.2.4 clause 15: express provision for goat's milk" and reads in full: "Clause 15 of FSC standard 4.2.4 does not apply to goat's milk." Clause 15 is the national pasteurisation requirement, so goat dairies in Western Australia may sell their milk unpasteurised. They still meet the rest of Standard 4.2.4, including a documented food safety program, and the general food safety rules for labelling and handling.

Raw cow's milk is pasteurised before it is sold as a food in Western Australia.

Raw milk cheese

Raw milk cheese is legal across Australia. Since February 2015, Division 5 of Standard 4.2.4 has allowed Australian dairies to make cheese from raw milk, with requirements from farm to vat: healthy, individually identified animals, milk cooled to 6°C within two hours of milking and made into cheese within 24 hours, raw cheese milk kept apart from other milk, and a finished cheese that does not support the growth of pathogens. Imported raw milk cheeses are sold too; see Australia starts importing raw cheese from the UK.

Finding raw dairy in Western Australia

Goat dairies and other sources are listed at raw milk in Western Australia. The national rules are on the Australia page.