The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) regularly undertakes compliance and enforcement activities to ensure that pesticides and veterinary medicines available for use in Australia comply with national legislation and do not harm humans, animals, or the environment or risk Australia’s trade. In accordance with the legislation, the APVMA is responsible for compliance action in relation to unregistered or registered products, as well as those that are listed, exempt or reserved.
The APVMA has developed and published the annual Compliance Plan to conduct proactive compliance and monitoring activities during the financial year.
It is APVMA policy to not comment on matters currently under investigation. A summary of investigations conducted and subsequent enforcement outcomes is provided below.
Compliance statistics
Summary of investigations |
FY2020–21 |
FY2021–22 |
FY2022–23 |
---|---|---|---|
Investigations commenced |
152 |
128 |
174 |
Investigations closed |
155 |
113 |
108 |
Average number of days to close an investigation |
178 |
160 |
61 |
Investigations remaining open |
1 |
0 |
44 |
Summary of enforcement outcomes |
FY2020–21 |
FY2021–22 |
FY2022–23 |
Education letters |
14 |
80 |
109 |
Formal warnings |
24 |
22 |
15 |
Infringement notices |
2 |
1 |
1 |
Enforceable Undertakings |
2 |
4 |
2 |
Civil proceedings |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Prosecutions |
0 |
0 |
0 |