Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY CHEMICALS CODE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO.264

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 264

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Agricultural And Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations (Amendment)

Section 6 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purpose of the Act.

The Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Bill was passed in March 1994 as part of the package of legislation to implement the National Registration Scheme for agricultural and veterinary chemicals. The Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations provide necessary support to the Act.

The regulations make three different types of amendments. The first adds an additional chemical to an existing list of chemicals in the Regulations; the second makes a minor technical amendment to the terminology in the Regulations; and the third implements two amendments recently proposed by the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances.

The proposed regulations add the insecticide dimethoate to the list of 'date-controlled products' in the Regulations. Date-controlled products are agricultural and veterinary chemical products which, as a condition of their registration by the National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (NRA) must not be sold/supplied later than the date specified on the label. (Reg 5).

The reason for this amendment is that it has become apparent that dimethoate degrades reasonably quickly at elevated storage temperatures. Making dimethoate a date-controlled product is a sensible approach to the problem.

The proposed regulations also make corrections in the terminology used in the schedules of both 'date-controlled products' and 'restricted chemical products' in the Regulations. (The latter are products which can only be supplied to an authorised person. Authorised persons are required to have appropriate skills and equipment, and use due care in their activities). At present, most of the names shown are in fact the names of active ingredients, whereas, strictly speaking, the schedules should list products. This amendment changes, for instance, 'diazinon' to read (in effect) 'products based on diazinon'. (Reg 6).

Furthermore, the proposed regulations implement two minor amendments to the Regulations proposed by the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances, as follows:

(a) to subregulation 47 A (b): amend the Regulations so as to make decisions of the NRA to remove notification numbers assigned by the NRA to premises selling hormonal growth promotants subject to review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Regs2,3). (A notification number entitles the holder of the number to sell hormonal growth promotants from the registered premises. The Regulations prescribe that a notification number lapses at the end of 12 months unless the prescribed fee is paid to the NRA) ; and

(b) to subregulation 59 C (4) amend the Regulations so as to allow a period not less than one month for a trustee in bankruptcy of a licenceholder, or the legal representative of a deceased licenceholder to provide the information about legal matters requested in accordance with that subregulation by the NRA before such persons lose their status as an 'exempt person' under the Regulations. (An exempt person is an unlicensed person whose position remains legally valid until the NRA makes a decision upon their application for a licence in respect of a product which has been brought within the ambit of the manufacturing control arrangements). (Reg 4).

Details of the regulations are included in the attachment.

ATTACHMENT

Regulation 1 provides that the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations are amended by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations (Amendment). The regulations will commence on gazettal.

Regulation 2 omits the power of the NRA to withdraw a notification number for premises supplying hormonal growth promotants and replaces it with a requirement for the NRA to warn the assignee of withdrawal and specify a maximum elapsed _ period, and allows the NRA to then withdraw the notification number after the expiry of the period.

Regulation 3 provides that a decision under regulation 2 can be brought before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Regulation 4 allows a period not less than one month for a legal personal representative or trustee in bankruptcy of a licenceholder, or of a deceased licenceholder to provide information about legal matters requested in accordance with that subregulation by the NRA.

Regulation 5 prescribes products based on the chemical dimethoate as date-controlled products; and also makes a minor correction to the terminology of the chemicals already in the list ie it specifies products based upon the active ingredient, rather than specifying the active ingredient.

Regulation 6 makes a minor correction to the terminology of most of the chemicals already in the list of restricted chemical products ie it specifies products based upon the active ingredient, rather than specifying the active ingredient.


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