Cattle company’s own tip-off revealed biosecurity breach, court told

Cattle company inadvertently tipped off Queensland DPI to biosecurity breach, court told Mon 1 Jun 2026 at 7:35am In short: It has been revealed a biosecurity investigation into a cattle company was triggered when the company contacted the DPI with an enquiry. Argyle Foods Pastoral Pty Ltd, operated by two brothers, received the largest-ever biosecurity fine under a Queensland law. In the same year of the penalty, creditors moved to bankrupt the brothers. A NSW company tipped off authorities to the illegal movement of its cattle, triggering the investigation that led to the largest-ever biosecurity fine under a Queensland law. Argyle Foods Pastoral Pty Ltd, based in New South Wales and the ACT, was fined $45,000 in November 2025 for moving livestock into Queensland without the required records. The company is operated by directors Bryce and Lachlan Graham, who are brothers. Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said the penalty was the largest recorded under the state's Biosecurity Act 2014. It has been revealed the investigation was triggered when the company contacted the DPI with an enquiry. "DPI identified a range of offences and subsequently undertook an investigation," a department spokesperson said. On behalf of the company, Lachlan Graham pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to 22 offences, including failures to provide prescribed livestock movement information, maintain accurate records, and register as a biosecurity entity. In sentencing, Acting Magistrate Maryanne May said the prosecution had accepted Mr Graham had not "deliberately disregarded" the act, and that he had genuine welfare concerns for the animals being moved. No conviction was recorded. The ABC contacted lawyers representing the Graham family, who declined to comment. Cattle carry 'risk of disease' Between June and September 2023, the company engaged a drover to move several thousand head of cattle along various stock routes in Queensland before trucking them to agistment properties. The court found the company failed to notify the appropriate entities, including the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS), a key tool used to trace livestock during disease outbreaks. The cattle were later found not to be carrying any diseases, but DPI chief biosecurity officer Rachel Chay said the threat of outbreaks was serious. "There is risk of carrying cattle tick, there is risk of disease and parasites, there is also risk of movement or carriage of weeds and seeds," Dr Chay said. During sentencing, Magistrate May said the prosecution accepted that Lachlan Graham did not "deliberately disregard" the requirement. In her remarks, she noted he had cooperated with investigators, made admissions in a formal interview, and accepted ultimate responsibility despite contractors also being involved. However, she said failing to know the law was not an excuse. "The prosecution submit that whilst human error is accepted, this doesn't diminish the responsibility of the company to have proper process in place to ensure compliance," she said. Under Queensland law, corporations can face penalties of up to $2.5 million for serious biosecurity offences, while individuals risk fines of up to $500,000 and three years behind bars. Brothers face financial difficulties Fifth-generation farmers, the Graham brothers registered Argyle Foods Pastoral in 2017. The company was a division of Argle Foods Group Pty Ltd, which also had a meat-processing division and carbon farming arm, led by the brothers as co-CEOs. But by 2023, Argyle Foods Group was facing mounting financial pressure, brought about by falling cattle prices and the loss of 95 per cent of its customers and livestock market during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, one of its creditors, Secover, moved to bankrupt the Graham brothers over an unpaid $6.1m court judgment dating back to March 2023. Documents from federal court proceedings show in January of 2025, Argle Foods Group sold its assets to ABL Co, a beef and lamb exporter, which was backed by AAM Licensees, Sure Good Foods and Woodcroft Investment. The Graham brothers' father, Maxwell Graham, owns Woodcroft Investment, and the new ownership structure resulted in the Graham brothers working for ABL, according to the documents. They put a plan in place to try to salvage what they could of the collapsed business — proposing a personal insolvency agreement that would allow them to settle the almost $37 million they owed without declaring bankruptcy. The repayment plan, which would have returned 20-21 cents in the dollar, was in two parts. First, the Grahams would make up-front payments of $60,000 to the fund created for creditors, and second, an estimated $7.37 million post-tax dividends their father's company, Woodcroft, was projected to earn through its share of ABL over five years. It also included a guarantee that if ABL was sold, any sale proceeds payable to Woodcroft would instead go to the fund. But the proposal failed to gain the support of 75 per cent of creditors when they voted in November 2025, with Secover and Nutrien AG Solutions representing $10.68m, voting against it. The Graham brothers then sought orders in the federal court for a trustee to take control of their property, which was opposed by Secover Pty Ltd. During the Federal Court proceedings, Secover argued several points against the proposal, including their concerns that the brothers "rely heavily on debts owed to companies associated" with them. However, Justice Stephen Burley was persuaded, ultimately finding they had "moved promptly to propose" another plan to repay their debts and granting the order. A revised proposal is now back before the court, with a hearing date yet to be set.