How the APVMA was established

From the early 1960s the Commonwealth, under the aegis of the former Australian Agricultural Council, coordinated and provided a national approach to the assessment and clearance of selected classes of agricultural and veterinary chemical products. The registration of all agricultural and veterinary chemical products was an individual State/Territory responsibility.

At the Special Premiers' Conference held in October 1990, registration of agricultural and veterinary chemicals was identified as an area where regulation should be reviewed. In July 1991, the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers responsible for agricultural issues decided to establish a National Registration Scheme. Under the arrangements agreed to, the Commonwealth would be responsible for the registration of agricultural and veterinary chemicals up to the point of retail sale, with States and Territories responsible for control of use. For efficiency reasons it was agreed that the monitoring of products in the marketplace - to ensure that they are registered and labelled in accordance with the conditions of registration - would be undertaken by the States and Territories on behalf of the Commonwealth.

Recognizing that legislation to give effect to this decision would take time, Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers entered into an interim formal agreement that provided for the Commonwealth to progressively take over all registration functions except the issuing of formal registration certificates. In August 1992, the Commonwealth announced that it would establish a National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (NRA) to undertake the registration activities, with associated policy issues being the responsibility of the Department of Primary Industries and Energy.

Legislation to establish the NRA received Royal Assent on 24 December 1992 and came into effect on 15 June 1993. The NRA was provided with the powers and functions of the Australian Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Council which it replaced.

The NRA received its full powers when the passage of Commonwealth legislation and complementary State/Territory legislation enabled the commencement of the National Registration Scheme.

In 2003 the National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals has decided to change its name to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and to commence using this new name on all official documentation pending the necessary legislative changes. The legislation giving effect to the name change came into effect on 30 July 2004. All actions and decisions are now made by the APVMA or its delegates.