Further reforms to Australian agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemical legislation came into effect on 21 July 2014 as a result of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Legislation (Removing Re-approval and Re-registration) Amendment Act 2014. An overview of previous reforms which commenced on 1 July 2014 is available here.
Changes to agvet chemical legislation
Under the further reforms, as of 21 July 2014:
- It is no longer necessary to seek re-approval of active constituents. Approvals of active constituents will therefore continue in force so long as they are not cancelled.
- Re-registration of agvet chemicals, (which was to be introduced under the earlier reforms), has been abolished. This means that chemicals, once registered, will have an indefinite period of registration, as long as the renewal fee is paid and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) does not otherwise cancel the registration. Longer renewal periods have also been introduced, and renewal dates for registrations can now be between one year and 7 years from the initial registration or last date of renewal.
- The APVMA’s ability to compel a person who supplies agvet chemical products in Australia to provide information to the APVMA about that product (for example, providing chemical analysis results) has been improved.
- The APVMA is obliged to provide information regarding approvals and registrations contained in its files to persons who are eligible to receive it.
- Some minor implementation issues with the previous reform legislation have been addressed.
For more information on the further reforms or for advice on issues relating to regulation of agvet chemicals in Australia, please contact Richard Jarvis.