The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is the regulator responsible for the recall of agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemical products that have been supplied to the Australian market.
This includes recalls where a supplier voluntarily takes action to recall a product from the market (known as a voluntary recall) and recalls where the APVMA issues a notice to a supplier requiring the recall (known as a compulsory recall).
Part 6 of the Schedule to the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 (Agvet Code) contains the provisions relevant for the recall of agvet chemical products.
Information for users of agvet chemicals
The recall of an agvet chemical product may be initiated for a variety of reasons. The recall may occur in response to a manufacturing quality issue or other concern related to specific batches of the product.
A listing of agvet chemical recalls is available on our website.
To be notified of recalls via email, please complete a subscription form and select 'Recall notices'.
Information for suppliers of agvet chemicals
An agvet chemical product may need to be recalled if it has been identified as not meeting the:
This situation most often occurs due to quality issues related to specific batches of a product. However, it may also occur when new information concerning the product or its active constituents becomes available.
Agvet chemical products that are not registered with APVMA (or subject to a permit) should be recalled from the market. If the concentration, composition, or purity of constituents of a certain batch of a registered product varies by more than the prescribed extent set out in the Register of Chemical Products, it may be considered to be unregistered.
If you take action voluntarily to recall an agvet product for the reasons described above, you must give the APVMA notice in writing, within 2 days after taking the action, using the approved form. It is an offence not to do so.
The APVMA considers recall actions to include stopping the supply of a product or taking active steps to locate, retrieve, and correct or destroy an agricultural or veterinary chemical product within a distribution network.
The APVMA must publish a copy of the notice:
- on its website within 3 working days; and
- in the APVMA Gazette within 14 days.
This requirement does not apply if the affected product was not supplied to a premises where a person could have purchased the product and it was not supplied to a user of the product.
Information for suppliers who may need to recall an agvet chemical product
If you are a supplier of an agvet chemical product and have become aware of information that suggests you may need to recall the product, you should contact the APVMA as soon as possible. Please direct any information or questions to recalls@apvma.gov.au.
The APVMA will assess the risk and provide advice about your responsibilities.
Please be aware that section 161 of the Agvet Code also imposes related reporting obligations on holders of active constituent approvals, registrations, permits and label approvals. More information about this requirement can be found on our website.
If agreement on a recall cannot be reached, as a last resort, the APVMA may initiate a compulsory recall pursuant to sections 101 to 103 of the Agvet Code. In this event, the APVMA will direct the manner in which the recall is to occur and will enforce compliance.