This is your opportunity to have a say

In Australia, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is responsible for import, registration, labelling, and regulation of veterinary chemicals up to the point of distribution. The states and territories are responsible for control-of-use legislation. In NSW this is the Stock Medicines Act 1989  which is administered by NSW DPI.

For many years each of the states and territories control-of-use legislation has been quite different. This means that product manufacturers, veterinary practitioners, stock feed manufacturers, and livestock producers across state borders have to comply with different rules and regulations in each state.

In 2008 and again in late 2016 the Productivity Commission recommended that the states and territories consider harmonising their legislation to simplify compliance for all stakeholders. A working group was tasked with national harmonisation of control-of-use legislation for veterinary chemicals. That working group is referred to as the ‘Veterinary Prescribing and Compounding Working Group’.

The working group has just released a discussion paper for consultation that proposes a model for harmonisation of control-of-use legislation for veterinary prescribing and compounding. The working group and NSW DPI encourage everyone who is interested in veterinary chemical legislation to respond with your thoughts, comments and experiences.

The paper is available at www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/ag-vet-chemicals/domestic-policy/harmonisation-min-vet-prescribing-reg-requirements

Responses can be submitted to agvetpolicy@agriculture.gov.au