Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY CHEMICALS CODE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2006 (NO. 1) (SLI NO 75 OF 2006)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 75

 

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

 

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994

 

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)

 

 

The Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 (the Act) provides for regulations to be made in respect of the States and Northern Territory of Australia. In particular, section 6 of the Act provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals 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 6 March 2006 the delegate of the APVMA certified, pursuant to the Code, that it is in the public interest for all chemical products containing Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) (also known as Rabbit Calicivirus) to be declared by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations 1995 (the Principal Regulations) to be restricted chemical products.

 

The purpose of the Regulation is to add all products containing RHDV to the list of restricted chemical products, as set out in Schedule 4 to the Principal Regulations. 

 

RHDV is a member of the Caliciviridae family of viruses which, as a group, are associated with diseases in animals and humans, eg Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD). RHD is an acute fatal disease of the European rabbit, a major pest of Australia. Infection in the European rabbit usually leads to disease and death within 48-72 hours of infection.

 

The amendment reflects the results of a recent assessment by the APVMA of an application for registration of a product containing RHDV.  Products containing RHDV are used to treat grain or carrots for the preparation of baits, or by direct injection, for the infection of wild European rabbits.

 

A key finding of the assessment was that special knowledge, skills and qualifications are required in the preparation and handling of RHDV products.  In order to ensure that access to these products is limited to persons who are appropriately trained, the review report recommended that RHDV products should be declared to be restricted chemical products and thereby available for supply to authorised persons only.

 

As part of a consultative process, States and Territories have provided APVMA with definitions of authorised persons for the purposes of restricting the use of RHDV in their respective jurisdictions. 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 add the following to Schedule 4 to the Principal Regulations:

§               A chemical product containing Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) (also known as rabbit calicivirus) that is in the injectable form and requires mixing with carriers such as oats or carrot before it is ready to use as a bait.

 

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.

 

0604358A-060317A

 


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