The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has released its quarter 2 (Q2) performance report for the 2025–26 financial year.
Overall, the second quarter report indicates the scale of actions being taken across the agency to fulfil its regulatory responsibilities and reveals a range of crucial decisions have been made on agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemical products.
In Q2, the APVMA completed 1,358 activities related to regulatory decisions (2,863 year-to-date), including 546 product registrations/permits and 20 emergency permits. This represents an increase of almost 100 product registration completions against the first quarter.
The Authority also completed 73 compliance investigations and initiated removal of 378 unauthorised products from online marketplaces, remaining on-track to exceed the 2024–25 full-year figure of 1,277.
During Q2, 74.4% of all applications for approval of an active or a label, registration of a product or the issuing of a permit were completed within statutory timeframes, against a target of 90%, below the previous quarter (80.2% in Q1).
| Area | Received | In progress | Finalised | Finalised on time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural chemicals | 187 | 644 | 159 | 60.4% |
| Veterinary medicines | 230 | 333 | 255 | 84.7% |
| Permits (excl. emergency permits) | 131 | 273 | 132 | 60.6% |
| Emergency permits 1 | 10 | 8 | 20 | N/A |
| Active constituents | 94 | 278 | 80 | 92.5% |
| Total | 652 | 1 536 | 646 | 74.4% |
While these results are lower than expected, the completion of large numbers of previously overdue applications negatively impacts headline timeframe measures even as overall throughput increases. Importantly, the APVMA completed the highest number of technical applications (those requiring detailed multiple assessments) in more than 18 months and finalised 20 emergency permits during the quarter, demonstrating increased operational activity and responsiveness.
Looking ahead, timeframe performance is expected to remain under pressure in Q3 and may decline slightly further before improvement is realised. Most assessment areas continue to experience backlog pressures, and it is anticipated that recovery will take more than a year.
The APVMA remains focused on increasing capacity, strengthening application quality, prioritising high-risk and high-impact work, and maintaining transparent engagement with stakeholders to provide greater predictability and confidence in regulatory processes.
While achieving reliable timeframes for the work we do is undoubtedly important, the APVMA is also committed to maintaining the trust of the Australian public, as that is critical to maintaining confidence in the Australian agvet chemical regulatory system.
1 Emergency permits (Item 22) do not have a numerical statutory timeframe. The APVMA must determine the application as soon as is practicable in the circumstances of the case.