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Further Delay in Commencement of Acts

MAF has been advised that there will be further delays in the commencement of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act). At a recent Conference the Minister for the Environment did not give any firm indication as to when that Act would commence.

As noted in previous issues of AgVetLink, the ACVM Act must commence at the same time as the HSNO Act. Therefore, MAF will progress its plans to implement as much of Government policy as possible under the existing legislation (i.e. Animal Remedies, Pesticides, Fertilisers and Stock Foods Acts).

Much of what has been presented in AgVetLink will be implemented.

Class determination

The product class determination service will be implemented on 1 July 1999. This service will provide a written statement of the class in which a particular product fits. The statement can be used to assist the clearance of imported products at the border and to determine whether or not a product must be registered or licensed.

Border clearance

The clearance of imported products will be modified as advised in the April issue of AgVetLink. Importers are advised to take advantage of the class determination service because inspectors at the border will have to sight adequate documentation that a product can be cleared.

MAF intends to explain the modification to importers before the new border clearance system is implemented. Importers known to MAF will be contacted about presentations, but if anyone else is interested please contact Raewyn Heath of the ACVM Group to find out details of presentations.

Exemption from registration or licensing

The delay in the commencement of the ACVM Act will have most effect on products that were to be recommended for exemption from registration under that Act. Similar provisions do not exist in the present legislation. The Minister, on the recommendation of the appropriate statutory Board, does have the power to exempt products from registration or licensing. However, conditions cannot be imposed on those exemptions. Except for a few non-medicated animal remedies, the agricultural compounds that were recommended for exemption without conditions are not presently regulated. They will remain unregulated until the ACVM Act commences.

Agricultural compounds that were recommended for exemption with conditions will have to be registered until the ACVM Act commences. MAF has discussed this matter with the Animal Remedies and Pesticides Boards and asked them to consider using their powers to adjust the information requirements for low risk products. The Boards have agreed and MAF is developing a standard for low risk products (see article on page 3).

Registration information packages

MAF is revising the registration and licensing packages and will publish the new version by the end of July. While the packages have been designed to provide guidance to people who wish to register or license products under the existing legislation, the bulk of the package will be relevant to registration under the ACVM Act as well. The standards that have been notified in previous issues of AgVetLink will be implemented as guidelines in this interim period. MAF will advise people when compliance to the standards becomes compulsory.

Data assessment service

Although MAF is unable to announce an implementation date in this issue of AgVetLink, it intends to introduce modifications in the registration process so that applicants can contract accredited assessors to carry out assessments on their applications. This will alow MAF to adjust the time required to process an application to give effect to the time limits that are specified in the ACVM Act. Anyone interested in this service should contact Kieran Galvin of the ACVM Group.

MAF is confident that the changes it is making under the existing legislation will achieve a number of the benefits that have been anticipated, while improving the management of risks posed by agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines.

In the interim MAF will continue to manage risks in the areas of environment and public health, which will be the responsibility of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) in future. MAF is discussing with ERMA New Zealand the mechanism that will best achieve Government policy through this interim period.

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