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The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Advisory Council (AVMAC)

The following is a brief overview of the purpose and functions of AVMAC in support of the ACVM Act (1997). Further details are available in the AVMAC Operating Procedures document.

• Purpose
• Scope
• Modus Operandi
• Membership
• Contact details

Purpose

AVMAC is not a decision making body, it's prime purpose is to provide comprehensive and balanced advice to NZFSA on matters relating to the regulatory control of agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines.

Scope

NZFSA have concentrated in the first instance on the alignment of AVMAC to the primary purposes of the new legislation, namely managing risks to trade in primary produce, animal welfare, and agricultural security. However, we are aware that there may be changes in focus over time, and for this reason we have built in review of the AVMAC purpose, functions and membership to ensure that it continues to be as effective as possible.

Modus Operandi

The size of AVMAC has been limited (10 member organisations being asked to provide representatives) for the following reasons:

• There was strong support in submissions on the formation of AVMAC for a smaller tighter body. From the NZFSA perspective this has a good fit as larger groups are less manageable and take longer in the process.
• AVMAC will only be part of the consultation process. We have set up a database to ensure that all interested and affected parties are contacted and invited to comment on any discussion documents, draft policies and standards. We also envisage using available technology (the NZFSA website for example) to make documents available as widely as possible. In addition there will be extensive development of recommendations from a number of AVMAC working groups, formed of individuals with specific expertise pertinent to the area of focus and not limited to the organisations with representatives on AVMAC.

Membership

The member organisations were selected to cover as wide a range of sector views as is possible within the drive to limit the Council to a manageable number. Care was taken to ensure that both the domestic market and the export market interests were well represented, and that there was representation from growers, manufacturers, distributors, importers, veterinarians and exporters. The Animal Welfare Advisory Committee was added to cover specific concerns in this area. We also ensured that the widest range of affected products was covered including fruit, dairy, beef, lamb, poultry, and vegetables. Refer to AVMAC Members for full details of the member organisations and their representatives.

Contact details

AVMAC Secretary - Emma Miles-Buckler
Approvals & ACVM Group
New Zealand Food Safety Authority
PO Box 2835
Wellington

Street Address:
86 Jervois Quay
Wellington

Phone: 04 894 2440
Fax:     04 894 2501
Email:  emma.miles-buckler@nzfsa.govt.nz