The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) welcomes the release of the Australian Government’s detailed response to the Final Report on Future Structure and Governance Arrangements for the APVMA (Rapid Evaluation).
The APVMA looks forward to working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) to implement recommendations that will align the APVMA’s governance arrangements and operations with regulatory best practices and standards.
The detailed response considers the recommendations made across 3 reviews of the APVMA and Australia’s agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals regulatory system, including the Rapid Evaluation (2023), the Strategic Review (2023), and the Independent Review of the Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Regulatory System in Australia (2021).
The detailed response outlines the government’s reform agenda for the APVMA, including reforms already underway, additional policy analysis, and research to be undertaken by DAFF and the APVMA, in consultation with stakeholders.
APVMA Board Chair, Dr Catherine Ainsworth, said the release of detailed response means the APVMA can get on with the job as Australia’s independent regulator of agvet chemicals.
“The APVMA has already made significant progress to address the findings in the Rapid Evaluation and other reviews to improve its operations, workplace culture, governance, transparency, accountability and stakeholder engagement”.
“The APVMA is committed to being a world-class agvet chemicals regulator that is instrumental in protecting the health and safety of people, animals, and the environment”.
“The APVMA will continue to collaborate with DAFF, state and territory governments, and other stakeholders to maintain a modern and effective regulatory system that upholds Australia’s public health, food safety, and environmental standards”.
For more information on the detailed response, please see DAFF’s website here.