Kinds of chemicals the APVMA registers

The APVMA assesses and registers agricultural chemical products and veterinary chemical products. It does not register industrial chemicals or drugs and pharmaceuticals. Industrial chemicals are assessed under the National Industrial Chemicals Notification & Assessment Scheme. Drugs and pharmaceutical products are registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

All new agricultural and veterinary chemical products must be registered by the APVMA before they can be supplied, distributed or sold anywhere in Australia. In addition, active constituents - the substance/s in an agvet chemical product primarily responsible for a products biological or other effects - must be approved by the APVMA either before, or at the same time, that the product is being registered. (A few active constituents are exempt from APVMA approval.)

Variations to the formulation of a currently registered product must also be approved, as must proposed new patterns of use and new labels. This includes changes to the current use pattern or the products claims.

Agricultural chemical products (definition)

Agricultural chemical products' includes any substance or organism used to:

destroy, stupefy, repel, inhibit the feeding of, or prevent pests on plants or other things;
destroy a plant or to modify its physiology;
modify the effect of another agricultural chemical product; or
attract a pest for the purpose of destroying it.

This encompasses all herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Fertilisers are not considered agricultural chemical products for the purposes of registration unless they modify the physiology of a plant.

Dairy cleansers for on-farm use, crop markers, insect repellents for use on humans, swimming pool disinfectants and algaecides, rodenticides, antifouling paints, time preservatives and household and home garden products for pest and weed control have been deemed to be agricultural chemical products. Some pest traps and barriers using chemical attractants also require registration.

For a complete definition see the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code (the Agvet Code), scheduled to Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994, and the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations (no. 27 of 1995). These instruments legally define both what constitutes and what does not constitute an agricultural chemical product.

Veterinary chemical product (definition)

'Veterinary chemical product' includes any substance administered or applied to an animal to:

prevent, diagnose, cure or alleviate a disease, condition or pest infestation;
cure or alleviate an injury; or
modify the physiology.

It also includes:

any substance that modifies the effect of another veterinary chemical product;
vitamins, minerals and additives if they are used for any of the purposes mentioned above;
allergenic substances, medicated blocks and licks, enzymes for animals, , direct-fed microbial products and sheep branding substances, and
stockfood non-active constituents unless listed in Agvet Code Stockfood and Non-active constituent order.

It does not include a substance or mixture of substances prepared by a veterinary surgeon under veterinary prescribing rights.

Non-medicated licks and blocks, stockfoods and stockfood additives must be registered if they carry claims about therapeutic effect, performance or productivity enhancement.

For a complete definition see the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code (the Agvet Code), scheduled to Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994, and the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations (no. 27 of 1995). These instruments legally define both what constitutes and what does not constitute a veterinary chemical product.