Keeping Goats in Australia: The Complete Guide

Dairy goats or meat goats?

Dairy goats (Saanen, Toggenburg, British Alpine, Anglo Nubian, Australian Melaan and Brown, plus Nigerian Dwarf and LaMancha) give milk and need milking twice a day for most of the year, so they tie you to a routine. Meat goats such as the Boer and rangeland types suit larger blocks and need less daily work. Both are browsers rather than grazers, so they want shrubs, shade and shelter, not just grass. Our dairy goat guide and meat goat guide cover each in detail.

Goats are herd animals: keep at least two. A single goat will be stressed and noisy.

Registration, tags and council rules

A PIC (property identification code) is a legal requirement for anyone who keeps sheep, cattle or goats, whatever the number. You also need a movement document (an NVD, or in Victoria the consignment declaration) whenever goats leave or arrive, even if sold as pets. Electronic ID (eID) is being phased in:

Checked 7 October 2026. Rules are changing quickly, so confirm dates with your state agency. See our PIC glossary entry and state-by-state livestock rules.

Councils set their own limits on goats and fences, so find yours with My Council in One Place and read the permits and fees article before you buy.

Fencing, shelter and how many goats per hectare

Goats test fences. NT DAF recommends 1.5–1.8 m with buried mesh and no barbed wire for the Top End, and our Goat Paddock Planner advises 1.5 m for larger breeds, with mesh openings of 10 cm or less (horned goats can get their heads stuck in 10–15 cm gaps). Aim for 1.5 m (1.2 m is the bare minimum), and see heavy-duty livestock fencing and fencing basics. Portable electric netting works for miniature goats. Provide a dry, draught-free shelter and something for goats to climb on.

Stocking is measured in DSE (dry sheep equivalents, the feed eaten by a 45–50 kg dry sheep). MLA rates a 40 kg dry goat at about 0.9 DSE, but a breeding doe rises from 0.8 to 1.8 DSE in spring lactation. Use the Stocking Rate & Grazing Planner for your paddock, and note that it uses a flat 1 DSE per goat, which understates lactating does and the Goat Paddock Planner counts 1.5. For small blocks with bought-in feed, one retailer suggests about 1,000 m² (a quarter acre) for a couple of miniature goats. Our planner separates the two cases: about 18.6 m² per goat is a hay-fed yard minimum, while goats living off pasture and browse need far more (about 1,900 m² each at 8 DSE/ha and 1.5 DSE per goat; SA’s Landscape Board rates a dry milk or meat goat at 1.5 DSE, higher than MLA’s 0.9). Rotating paddocks also breaks the worm cycle: see rotational grazing.

Worms: the main killer

Internal parasites, especially barber’s pole worm, are a leading cause of goat deaths in warm, wet areas. WormBoss recommends not drenching on a calendar. Instead, check body condition score monthly (target 2.5–3.0, and 3.0 at kidding) and use the FAMACHA eye-colour card weekly in risk periods. For a smallholder program, drench if condition score is 2.0 or less, FAMACHA is 4–5, or goats are scouring. Do faecal egg counts (WormTest) every 4–6 weeks in summer and 6–8 weeks in winter, and after rain of 20 mm or more, and test for drench resistance (DrenchTest) every 2–3 years. Goats metabolise drenches faster than sheep, and most sheep drenches are not registered for goats, so a vet prescription is often needed. Treat newly bought goats with a quarantine drench before they join the herd. Barbervax is registered for sheep only; use in goats is off-label under a vet’s direction. See drenching.

Vaccines, diseases and minerals

Ask a vet about a clostridial vaccine (5-in-1 or 6-in-1) from about six weeks of age. NT DAF recommends it for goats, but several products are labelled for sheep only, so goat use may be off-label. Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) and Johne’s disease have no cure. CAE spreads mainly through milk and colostrum, so buy from accredited herds, test goats over six months and follow the National Kid Rearing Plan. For Johne’s, Gudair vaccine, a closed herd and a Goat Health Statement help.

Minerals differ by region: DPIRD WA says copper, selenium and cobalt need regular monitoring in dairy goats, and NSW DPIRD notes copper deficiency is particularly severe on coastal properties. This is the opposite of sheep, which are easily poisoned by too much copper, so do not feed goat feed to sheep. Poisonous plants include oleander, yew, cherry and plum (Prunus), foxglove, rhododendron and azalea, and (in the NT) ironwood. Treat the NSW list as cattle-centred and check goat specifics.

Our milking guide covers the stand and routine. We have not verified the legality of selling or sharing raw goat milk, so check your state dairy authority first.

Breeding, kidding and production

DPIRD WA gives a heat cycle of 18–21 days, first mating at about 19 months for dairy does, a gestation of about five months and an average of about two kids per mating. Our calculator assumes 1.5 kids per doe, so adjust it for your herd. Dairy goats average 2–3 L a day (up to 4 L at peak) over roughly 300 days. See kidding, colostrum and mastitis.

Home kill: NSW allows meat from an animal you kill at home to be eaten by you and visiting family and friends, but not sold, traded or served to paying guests (NSW Food Authority). Queensland is stricter: only people living on the property may eat it, it cannot leave the property and cannot be traded (Safe Food Queensland). We have not verified the other states, so check with your state food regulator. Our home slaughter guide covers the process.

Costs and feed

Feed is the biggest running cost. Dairy goats need about 4–5% of bodyweight in dry matter a day (NT DAF), more than the 3% hay assumption in our Livestock Feed & Hay Budgeter. Run your numbers through the Goat Cost & Payback Calculator, whose defaults ($6/L milk, $14/kg meat, $15 per doe a year for treatment) we have not checked against current prices. A vet-prescribed drench and vaccines will likely cost more than that treatment default.

How goats change with your climate zone

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Watch and learn

Every guide, tool and rule page for goats

Everything on this site that applies to goats, in one place.

Animal guides

• Dairy Goats: animal guide
• Meat Goats: animal guide
• Keeping Dairy Goats: deep dive
• Keeping Meat Goats: deep dive
• All goat guides

How-to guides

• Milking Sheep & Goats
• Cheesemaking Basics
• Yoghurt & Cultured Dairy
• Butchering Lamb & Goat
• Home Slaughter: Process & Regulations
• Heavy-Duty Livestock Fencing
• Rotational Grazing

Rules and costs

• Backyard livestock rules by state
• Best states for backyard livestock
• Council permits and livestock fees
• Queensland council livestock rules
• NSW council livestock rules
• Victoria council livestock rules
• South Australia council livestock rules
• Western Australia council livestock rules
• Tasmania council livestock rules
• NT council livestock rules

Related reading

• How much land do you need?
• Keeping sheep: the complete guide

Words worth knowing

• PIC
• Doe
• Buck
• Wether
• Kidding
• Colostrum
• Mastitis
• Drenching
• Hoof trimming
• Milking stand
• Ruminant
• Biosecurity