The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) manages potential risks posed by agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals by, among other things, imposing conditions on approvals or registrations, and by requiring that certain information be contained on chemical product labels. Further, access to certain agvet chemical products is restricted if the Agvet Code Regulations declare them to be restricted chemical products.
Examples of risk management strategies we may employ include restricting the timing, frequency and/or rate of application of an agvet product, requiring buffer zones around the application area, re-entry restrictions following application, or withholding periods following the treatment of animals.
Aligning regulatory effort with risk
The Agvet Code sets out a legislative framework for the APVMA to align our regulatory efforts with risk.
The legislative framework allows the APVMA some discretion when determining if certain criteria have been met when assessing an application. It also allows us to prioritise compliance and enforcement activities based on risk and allocate internal resources proportionately.
This reduces the regulatory burden on industry while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the APVMA – without compromising the safety of people, animals, crops and the environment.