‘Information’ includes knowledge communicated to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to enable us to assess relevant criteria in respect of an active constituent, a chemical product or a label (such as the safety, efficacy or trade criteria). It includes reports, studies, reviews, descriptions of methods of analysis, scientific argument prepared to address relevant criteria, or other scientific work intended to inform the APVMA’s assessment of relevant criteria.
For the purposes of the limitation on use of information provisions, section 34G of the Agvet Code defines the ‘use of information’ to include:
- applying a decision made, or a conclusion reached, based on the information
- the use of knowledge or understanding gained from the information.
Therefore, use also occurs whenever knowledge or understanding derived from the information is applied.
For example, referencing a registered chemical product in an application for registration of a new chemical product would be regarded as use of the information underpinning the registered product’s registration. This is because the purpose of referencing is to rely on the APVMA’s satisfaction of particular criteria for the registered product as establishing satisfaction of those criteria in respect of the new product