MLA seeks next cohort as Ambassadors programme scales past 500
Meat & Livestock Australia has opened applications for the 2025 intake of its Ambassadors for the Red Meat Industry programme, inviting individuals from right across the beef and sheep supply chains to apply. According to the announcement reported by industry media, the initiative is designed to build a national network of industry champions who can tell the Australian red meat story more effectively in their communities. The programme is framed around improving communication on animal welfare, environmental sustainability and the production of high‑quality, nutritious red meat. (This account is based on MLA’s most recent communications and the Sheep Central report of the launch.)
The scheme, which MLA first introduced in 2021, has been variously described in public materials as a rapidly expanding development pathway. Industry reporting cited by MLA states the programme has now trained “over 500” participants since inception; earlier MLA news releases and profiles have referred to a network of “over 400” or 425 ambassadors, reflecting small discrepancies between different updates and reporting dates. Those differences largely reflect how MLA has reported cumulative alumni numbers across successive news releases and program reports.
What applicants can expect is a mix of practical, skills‑based development and ongoing alumni support. MLA’s programme pages and press material describe an intensive two‑day capacity‑building workshop followed by engagement planning, mentoring and alumni activities; training topics include storytelling, social and traditional media, mock media interviews and techniques for face‑to‑face community engagement. MLA frames these elements as intended to improve media readiness and community trust, and to provide pathways for participants to be matched to outreach and MLA engagement opportunities.
Logistics for the coming delivery show some variation between different announcements. The Sheep Central report lists workshops to be held over the next 12 months in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Darwin. Earlier MLA communications for previous intakes noted workshops in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Western Australia, and an MLA monitoring and evaluation report published on 31 July 2025 records delivery of five workshops in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Broome plus a Social Media Academy. Those differences appear to reflect evolving scheduling across financial years and separate special‑purpose sessions such as the Social Media Academy.
MLA and participants point to measurable gains from attendance. According to MLA reporting, ambassadors who took part in last year’s program reported an average self‑rated confidence increase from 6.2 before the workshop to 8.7 afterwards, and in one survey 100% of respondents said they were actively using their new skills in conversations, social media and public speaking. MLA’s recent promotional stories have highlighted individual alumni such as early‑career ambassador Shania Gough, who told MLA she gained practical social media skills and confidence after the training. MLA Group Manager Samantha Jamieson has also emphasised strong demand and continued alumni engagement through social channels and newsletters.
Taken together, the public materials suggest the Ambassadors programme is a core element of MLA’s broader community engagement strategy; MLA says it aims to foster open, authentic dialogue with the Australian public by equipping industry representatives to lead grassroots conversations. Independent stakeholders and readers should note that the description of the programme, its outputs and claimed outcomes are drawn from MLA’s own reporting and promotional material and from industry media coverage, and that headline figures have shifted over successive updates as the programme has scaled. MLA’s July 2025 workshop report provides more detailed delivery figures for the 2024–25 financial year and may serve as the most recent audited summary of activity.
Prospective applicants are being encouraged to apply through MLA’s published application process and to contact the programme team for details of upcoming workshop dates and locations. “If you’re passionate about the red meat industry and want to help shape its future by sharing your story, we encourage you to apply,” MLA managing director Michael Crowley said in the recent announcement. MLA presents the scheme as a way to strengthen connections between producers and the broader community; whether and how that ambition translates into broader public sentiment will depend on how widely alumni are deployed and the variety of engagement settings in which they participate.