The original National Johne's Disease Market Assurance Program (MAP) for cattle was in the vanguard of herd certification programs for paratuberculosis when launched in 1996. There are now 1,600 herds in the program, and MAPs have also been introduced for sheep, goats and alpaca. Compliance with biosecurity requirements for introductions of cattle and movements of animals away from the farm, together with negative testing of the herd or flock, provide a pathway to three levels of herd or flock status, the highest level (Monitored Negative 3) being attainable in a minimum of 4 years. Improvements have been made to each MAP on one or more occasions. More flexibility has been introduced to testing schedules and management options based on risk assessment and management. These include options for maintaining a certain herd or flock status, introducing young cattle for rearing and small numbers of breeding animals. More flexibility has also been introduced to protect the status of animals from assessed herds and flocks at sales and exhibitions. The program manuals for the MAPs for cattle and sheep were upgraded in 2000 to full quality manuals that are consistent with other Australian on-farm quality assurance programs. These loose-leaf manuals contain explanations of the program components, codes of practice to comply with and a range of forms to help record that compliance. Annual updates are sent to owners and veterinarians. As well as assisting herd owners manage and record the program, the manuals facilitate external auditing. A lower assurance level (Beef Cattle - Trade Assurance Scheme) has also been developed for the commercial beef industry, based on biased testing of 50 adults. In the dairy industry, a calf rearing accreditation program has recently been launched and dairy processing companies are introducing calf rearing standards into their farm quality assurance programs.