Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY CHEMICALS CODE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2009 (NO. 2) (SLI NO 341 OF 2009)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 341

 

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

 

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994

 

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 2)

 

 

Subsection 6(1) of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code (the Code) to be prescribed by regulations within the meaning of the Code.

 

Subsection 5(1) of the Act provides that the Code set out in the Schedule to the Act may be referred to as the Agvet Code of the participating States and the Northern Territory.

 

Section 93 of the Code provides that the regulations may declare a chemical to be a restricted chemical product, provided that the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has certified in writing that this is in the public interest.

 

Under section 94 of the Code, a person must not supply or cause or permit, a restricted chemical product to be supplied to a person who is not authorised to use the product under another law of this jurisdiction.

 

On 3 August 2009 the delegate of the APVMA certified, pursuant to the Code, that it is in the public interest for vertebrate pest control products containing fenthion, alphachoralose or 4-aminopyridine to be declared by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations 1995 (the Principal Regulations) to be restricted chemical products.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to add all vertebrate pest control products containing fenthion, alphachoralose or 4-aminopyridine to the list of restricted chemical products, as set out in Schedule 4 to the Principal Regulations.

 

Vertebrate pest control products containing fenthion, alphachloralose or 4-aminopyridine are used for the control of non-native pest bird species. It has been determined that specific knowledge and skills are required to safely use these products. If they are not used correctly there is a significant risk that non-target bird species could be poisoned or members of the public exposed to these pesticides. Strict controls and training are necessary for the continued safe use of these products.

 

The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) has advised the APVMA that continued registration of fenthion vertebrate pest control products could only be supported if they were declared to be restricted chemical products, therefore limiting the potential for misuse. Further advice from DEWHA outlined similar potential for non-target birds to be poisoned by the use of alphachloralose products and, therefore, also requiring their declaration to be restricted chemical products.

 

The declaration of these products is supported by the states and territories and, following their requests, the remaining bird control products containing 4-aminopyridine have similarly been declared to be restricted chemical products. The decision to declare the products containing fenthion, alphachoralose or 4-aminopyridine to be restricted chemical products is also supported by all the registrants of the affected products and they have submitted to the APVMA new draft labels for use after the declaration.

 

Declaring a chemical product to be a restricted chemical product has the effect that the product cannot be supplied to any person who is not authorised to use the product under state/territory law and also requires that a restricted chemical product must not be supplied unless the product label is endorsed "RESTRICTED CHEMICAL PRODUCT - ONLY TO BE SUPPLIED OR USED BY AN AUTHORISED PERSON".

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered.

 

0920742A-091002Z

 


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