The Agvet Code includes a ‘fit and proper person’ test which must be met before we can issue an approval for a permit or a manufacturing licence. Under these arrangements, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) must refuse the application if the proposed permit holder or applicant, or persons with a specified relationship with the proposed permit holder or applicant, has:
- been convicted of an offence against, an agvet law, or
- been convicted of an offence against a law of this or another jurisdiction relating to chemical products, or
- been convicted of an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a law of a state or territory involving fraud or dishonesty, or
- been ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty for the contravention of an agvet penalty provision, or
- been ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty for the contravention of another law of this or another jurisdiction relating to chemical products, or
- been ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty for the contravention of a law of the Commonwealth or a law of a state or territory involving fraud or dishonesty, or
- contravened a condition of a manufacturing licence issued under an agvet law
- been a manager, or a major interest holder of a body corporate who was convicted of an offence or been ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of the type listed above while that person was a manger or majority interest holder of the body corporate, or
- for a permit application, held a permit that was cancelled under subsection 119(2) or section 119B of the Agvet Code or under a corresponding provision of the Agvet Code of another jurisdiction, or
- for a licence application, held a licence that was cancelled under a provision other than subsection 127(1)(d) or (e) of the Agvet Code or under a corresponding provision of the Agvet Code of another jurisdiction, or
- been a manager, or a major interest holder of a body corporate that held a permit/licence that was cancelled in the circumstances set out above, while that person was a manager or majority interest holder of the body corporate, or
- for a licence application has within the five years immediately before the application, failed to comply with a manufacturing principle in connection with the manufacture of chemical products.
The APVMA may grant the permit or licence if, in our opinion, even though a person does not pass the 'fit and proper person' test, special circumstances make it appropriate to do so.
We will determine what constitutes a special circumstance on a case-by-case basis. This will depend on the specific facts relating to the offence or contravention, as well as any remedial actions undertaken. For example, the APVMA may consider exercising the special circumstance provision in a situation where an employee of the applicant has committed the relevant offence without the applicant’s knowledge, and the applicant provides suitable evidence of how that employee’s conduct has been managed to prevent similar contraventions occurring in the future.