Restricted Chemical Products
The APVMA may declare certain chemical products to be restricted chemical products (RCPs) if special training, and/or other requirements, are needed to be able to handle or use the chemical. Products that are declared to be RCPs can only be used by an “Authorised Person”. The relevant Australian State or Territory authority determines who may be considered as an “Authorised person”, based on advice from the APVMA following a risk assessment of the chemical product.
Australian State and Territory authorities implement the RCP scheme through their respective control-of-use legislative frameworks by authorising persons to access RCPs once they have successfully completed the relevant training, and/or other requirements.
The APVMA may declare a product to be a restricted chemical product if:
- the product may have an effect that is harmful to human beings;
- the product may have any unintended effect that is harmful to any animal, plant or thing or to the environment;
- any special knowledge, skill or qualification is required in the preparation or handling of the product;
- any special equipment is required to use the product with safety.
The APVMA has to certify in writing that it is in the public interest for a product to be so declared. Legislation relating to RCP may be found in Part 4, Division 4 of the AgVet Code Act (1994).
Current Restricted Chemical Products
There are currently 14 chemicals where all or certain uses of the products have been declared to be restricted. Click on the chemical name for further information.
Last updated 22 December 2011
| Chemical | Restricted uses |
|---|---|
| Acrolein | All |
| Alphachloralose | Vertebrate pest control products |
| 4-aminopyridine | Vertebrate pest control products |
| Bifenthrin | pre-construction termite products |
| Chlordane (no longer registered) | All |
| Chlorpyrifos | pre-construction termite products |
| Endosulfan (no longer registered) | All |
| Ethylene dibromide (EDB) | All |
| Fenthion | Vertebrate pest control products |
| Heptachlor (no longer registered) | All |
| Mevinphos | All |
| Pindone | A concentrate for which the relevant label instructions require further mixing with carriers before it is ready to use as a bait |
| Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) (PDF, 303kb) (also known as rabbit calicivirus) | A chemical product containing an injectable form and requires mixing with carriers such as oats or carrot before it is ready to use as a bait |
| Sodium (mono) fluroacetate (1080) | All |
This list can be found in Schedule 4 of the AgVet Code Regulations (1995) (see the APVMA Legislative Framework).
Using Restricted Chemical Products
Restricted chemical products may only be supplied to authorised persons.
A person must not supply a restricted chemical product, or cause or permit a restricted chemical product to be supplied, to a person who is not authorised to use the product by the relevant State or Territory authority.
A restricted chemical product can be identified by the words on the product label:
RESTRICTED CHEMICAL PRODUCT—ONLY TO BE SUPPLIED TO OR USED BY AN AUTHORISED PERSON
Becoming an Authorised Person
The requirements for a person to be considered “authorised” to use a RCP may vary in each State and Territory. For further information on State and Territory control-of-use restrictions for RCP chemicals, contact the following State/Territory authorities below.