COUNTRY-of-origin labelling is to be extended to unpackaged beef, sheepmeat and chicken.
Until now these unpackaged meats have been exempt from the requirement to label them "Product of Australia" due to the small quantity of imports from New Zealand and Vanuatu.
But Food Standards Australia New Zealand recommended extending the labelling laws to unpackaged beef after 2010 changes in Australian quarantine laws that allowed imports from countries with a history of mad cow disease.
An assessment report from FSANZ stated the extension of country of origin to red meats and chicken played a key role in the creation of consumer trust and created consistency across the retail sector.
The authority rejected voluntary labelling as "unlikely to lead to universal adoption of country-of-origin labelling".
But Kew butcher Paddy Maggin said the new standard, due to start in July, "seemed like over-regulation".
"We really don't need to buy meat from overseas because we've got everything here," Mr Maggin said.
"I've had the shop for 12 years and we haven't had any meat from overseas in that time. We've got everything here in Australia.
"Why would we want to get stuff anywhere else?
"There's an expectation among my customers that all products are Australian anyway.
"We get audited four times a year and we are required to say where the products come from, so regulations are already tight."
