Project Update: Pilot & Validate Phase for the Coral Traceability Solution

Coral Traceability Solution: Moving into Pilot and Validate

The Coral Traceability Solution (CTS), a project led by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is a world-first, combining robust, marine-grade and live animal safe hardware with a secure digital platform to support provenance recording of Queensland coral and Australia's CITES obligations. The CTS will ensure a piece of tagged coral can be traced by fishers, regulators, and wholesale customers through the supply chain to the end-consumer. Following development and build of the solution, the next phase of the project is the Pilot and Validate phase.

Wrapping Up: Build & Refine

The primary focus of the Build and Refine phase (March–May 2026) was to build a working prototype of the CTS web and mobile applications, based on operational and technical input from industry and regulators, and to validate it against real world commercial and regulatory processes.

During this phase we:

• Tested and refined the hardware, including the challenge of identifying the right marine-grade, live-animal-safe tagging application
• Drew on consultation with interested parties to refine the minimum viable product
• Used site visits to surface additional requirements
• Generated interest from the wider industry in traceability

This work built on extensive engagement carried out across the Engage and Design and Build and Refine phases. The CTS team has engaged with the majority of QCF licence holders and captive breeding operators, and engaged with a range of state and Commonwealth government departments and regulators.

The Pilot and Validate Phase

The Pilot and Validate phase will run from June to August 2026. The focus is to test all components of the traceability solution with industry and regulators in live operational settings. Iterative updates to the CTS will be made throughout, based on feedback from pilot trial participants. The involvement of all stakeholders during this process is integral to achieving a fit-for-purpose, easy-to-use system.

The pilot is scheduled to begin at the end of June 2026 and run for approximately one month, with participants using the solution in parallel with their existing processes. During the pilot, participants will:

• Tag and trace coral specimen in their own facilities using the CTS mobile application
• Record real traceability events, including fragmentation, breeding, growth updates, mortality, and facility transfers of coral
• Manage orders, attach permits and licences, and generate SERs through the web application
• Provide structured feedback on usability, fit with existing business processes, and any gaps identified

Regulators will access the CTS to view specimens and orders across participating fishers, testing the CTS against their existing regulatory processes and reporting capability. The CTS team will be closely engaging with pilot participants throughout.

The following objectives guided the design of the solution and will be used to evaluate and assess it throughout the pilot trial:

• End-to-end operations and decisions must be captured by the system to meet CITES and domestic requirements
• The solution must incorporate innovative technology that enables participants to use in real-time and provide best practise traceability to support business applications
• The solution must be practical and adaptable to allow for integration into existing systems for both regulators and industry applications
• The solution must be complimentary to existing external standards allowing for global trade in CITES-listed species and recognition of national and international traceability standards
• The solution must be reliable, and the system must be a secure and trusted environment

Next Steps

Following the pilot trial and subsequent updates of the traceability solution, the CTS is due for implementation in late 2026.

For more information on the Coral Traceability Solution, visit OriginsNext.