If a specimen's tag is damaged, lost or unreadable, you can replace it on the Australian Wildlife Traceability System (AWTS) mobile app. The new tag keeps the specimen's full traceability journey. You start from the Replace Tag tile on the Home screen.

On the Home screen, tap Replace Tag. The Replace tag screen opens with a field to enter or scan the old tag. Tap the Enter ID of old tag field and type the old tag ID (or scan it if possible), then tap Next: Scan new tag.

Scan the specimen's new tag; it appears in the Scanned items list (with a RESCAN button). If the scanned tag is already registered in the system, it shows highlighted in red with 'Tag already exists in system'; a genuinely new, unused tag will not. Tap Next: Replacement reason.

On the Replacement reason screen, select one reason (this is required):

Tap Replace tag. The data is saved to the AWTS and a confirmation notification appears (for example, 'Tag replaced!' in green), with a dismiss (×) button.

The new tag keeps the specimen's full traceability journey from the original tag, including all prior events such as harvest, fragmentation and transfers. The replacement event itself is also recorded. You can find the specimen by its new tag ID using View Coral in the app, with its full history intact.

If an action cannot be completed, the AWTS mobile app shows a short message. Here is what the messages you are most likely to see when replacing a tag mean, and what to do.