Diazinon proposed regulatory decision

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) invites written submissions on the proposed regulatory decision for the reconsideration of diazinon, which was published in the APVMA Special Gazette, 12 March 2024.

All submissions with information related to the scientific information and assessments conducted by the APVMA will be considered prior to finalisation of the reconsideration and publication of the final regulatory decision.

Submissions related to commercial or financial impacts will be noted; however, these are not able to be considered by the APVMA in determining whether a chemical meets the statutory criteria (safety, efficacy, trade and labelling) in the Agvet Code.

Making your submission

When making your submission, please include reasons for your comments, supporting them, if possible, with relevant scientific information and indicating the source of the information you have used. Please also include the following information:

• Contact name
• Company or group name (if relevant)
• Postal address
• Email address
• The date you made the submission

Electronic submissions to the APVMA are preferred.

Please lodge your submission with a public submission coversheet, which provides options for how your submission will be published.

Please note: Submissions will be published on the APVMA website unless you have asked for the submission to remain confidential (see public submission coversheet).

Note that all APVMA documents are subject to the access provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and may be required to be released under that Act should a request for access be made.

Note that all submissions received are subject to legislative requirements, including the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Privacy Act 1988 and the Agvet Code.

The closing date for submissions is 11 June 2024.

Submissions or requests for further information can be sent to:

Chemical Review
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
GPO BOX 3262
Sydney NSW 2001

Telephone: +61 2 6770 2400
Email: chemicalreview@apvma.gov.au

Submissions received

The APVMA sought comments from interested stakeholders in relation to the proposed decisions on the reconsideration of diazinon.

Ten submissions were received from stakeholders during the consultation period. Submissions are published on the APVMA website, excluding those requested to remain confidential. A summary of the submissions and the APVMA’s response is provided in the Diazinon Final Review Technical Report and below.

Consultation feedback

Submissions supporting the proposed decision

Four submissions that support the APVMA’s proposed decision are acknowledged.

Submissions concerned with animal welfare, financial impact or biosecurity

Several submissions provided substantially similar information in relation to the use of diazinon in veterinary products to control biting insects in livestock, including buffalo fly in cattle, and blowfly in sheep. These submissions noted that using pesticides with alternate modes of action in successive treatments is an important strategy to delay development of pesticide resistance within pest populations. These submissions further noted that a limited number of products are registered for control of biting insects, buffalo fly and blowfly in livestock, and asserted that if the APVMA cancels the registration of diazinon products used for these purposes resistance to other chemicals registered for control of these pests may develop more rapidly.

All these submissions requested that the APVMA consider an extended phase out period, if the decision is made to cancel the registration of diazinon products, as proposed. Several submissions also urged the APVMA to gather additional data, or to delay making a decision so that further data might be collected.

APVMA response:

The APVMA acknowledges the importance of alternative modes of action for managing resistance to pesticides within pest populations. It is not the APVMA’s role to identify chemicals that may be used to control a pest, or to carry out research to support existing chemical products. It remains open to industry peak-bodies or holders to commission studies that may be able to address the concerns identified in the Diazinon Review Technical Report, however these would need to be assessed separately and the APVMA is not able to delay a decision to accommodate any trials that may be conducted.

The Agvet Code provides a maximum duration of one year for a permit for possession, custody and use taken to be issued under section 45B, in the event of cancellation of a product’s registration. There is no option for the APVMA to further extend this deemed permit.

Submission from AUSVEG

AUSVEG submitted a summary of studies that did not detect quantifiable residues of diazinon in various crop commodities following use on soil at sowing or transplanting. AUSVEG’s submission puts forward that these types of uses should be considered acceptable and that the risk to trade is low.

APVMA response:

The APVMA’s residue assessment for diazinon concluded that it is not possible to establish a diazinon residue definition for risk assessment for plant commodities based on the available dataset. This means that there is not enough information about the metabolism and breakdown of diazinon for the APVMA to identify an acceptable level for residues of diazinon and its breakdown products in plant commodities. This is consistent with the position established internationally.