Title: Reappraisal of regulation of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in Australia
[By Syed Ziauddin Hashmi PhD] -- Thousands of agricultural chemical products currently sold on the Australian market were approved for use many decades ago. These historical registrations are not reconsidered unless new scientific data submitted by the registrant demonstrates harm to the wellbeing of Australia’s environment, agriculture, animals and/or humans. This article examines how this situation arose and what can be done to improve regulations.
Agricultural and Veterinary (Agvet) chemical products are registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) before they can be supplied in Australia. A mandatory scheme was introduced by the Australian government in 1993 to transfer Agvet chemical products from the State-based system to a national authority under the ’National Registration Scheme’ (NRS).
Later in 2013 the Amendment Act 2013 was introduced by Parliament to ensure approved Agvet chemical products do not pose unmanageable risks to agriculture, animals, human health or the environment post-approval. Following the introduction of the Amendment Act 2013, changes to existing Agvet chemicals legislation were sanctioned, including the re-approval of active constituents and re-registration of products.
These changes were originally expected to come into effect on 1 July 2014, but following changes in Government, this update to legislation was repealed by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Legislation Amendment (Removing Re-approval and Re-registration) Act in 2014.
Primarily, the burden of proof for safety, including the supporting data, continued to remain with the holder. The holder typically finds the most cost-effective way of achieving the required outcome and continues business as usual. Since APVMA is not actively monitoring potential harm to the health of the environment due to the long-term use of Agvet chemical products, it is important to stress that the Amendment Act 2014 also failed to mitigate risks by apportioning the responsibility where it is due.
When it comes to marketing chemicals, it is in the national interest to give power to the regulator to re-approve an active constituent and re-register a product to strengthen the safety of the environment, animals and humans.
Hashimi, S. Z. (2023). Reappraisal of regulation of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in Australia. Regulatory Rapporteur, 21(6).
Article: WeedsNews7012 (permalink) Categories: :WeedsNews:regulatory failure, :WeedsNews:regulatory science, :WeedsNews:APVMA Date: 24 June 2025; 10:07:17 am Australian Eastern Standard Time
