Keeping Records
Legal Requirements for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemical Use in Victoria
The Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Regulations 2007 (the Regulations) came into effect on 24 July 2007 and control the use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in Victoria. Record keeping requirements under the Regulations have changed, and it is important that you, as a chemical user, understand how they affect you.
Recording Agricultural Chemical Use
All chemical users (i.e. primary producers and commercial spray contractors) who use agricultural chemical products are required to make and keep the prescribed records for all agricultural chemicals used.
The following records must be made within 48 hours of using an agricultural chemical product and kept for a period of two years from the date of use:
1. Product trade name
2. Date the product was used*
3. Application rate of the product
4. Crop/commodity that was treated or the situation in which the product was applied
5. Extent of use (the area of land treated, or the volume of water treated, or the volume of stored commodity treated, or the weight of the commodity treated)*
6. Location where the product was used
7. Name and address of the applicator/supervisor
8. Name and address of the person for whom the application was carried out
(*not required when using poison baits for pest animal control)
Where a product is being sprayed outdoors (excludes hand-held devices that are operated manually), the following record must also be made:
9. Wind speed and direction at the time of applicationIf using products that are poison baits intended for pest animal control (e.g. 1080 or Pindone baits), two additional records are required:
10. Date the baiting period began11. Date the baiting period ended
Exemptions
If you use a household or home garden product, you are exempt from these requirements. Likewise, if you are licensed to use agricultural chemical products under section 108C of the Health Act 1958, and use these products in grounds associated with a building that is not connected with primary production or agricultural commodities, you are also exempt.
Explanatory Notes
1. Product trade name: The full name of the product should be recorded to avoid confusion. Many products on the market have similar names but different concentrations, approved uses and rates, so be specifi c.2. Date the product was used: The actual date you used the product.
3. Application rate of the product: The rate should be written in the same terms as on the label. This is often the amount of chemical product used (before mixing) per unit area (e.g. 700 mL/ha).
4. Crop/commodity that was treated or the situation in which the product was applied: The crop/commodity is sometimes referred to as the host (e.g. pasture, wheat, apples, roadway).
5. Extent of use: This should be expressed as the area of land treated, the volume of water treated, the volume of stored commodity treated, or the weight of the commodity treated (e.g. 20 ha land, spot spraying over 2 ha, 50 t wheat).
6. Location where the product was used: The description must be sufficient to enable the treated area to be identified by a person not familiar with the location. The more specifi c the better. Maps, diagrams or paddock numbers are good ways of recording this information.
7. Name and address of the applicator/ supervisor: Full name and address of person spraying, spreading or dispersing the product and if applicable (i.e. where the applicator is using a ‘restricted use’ chemical product and does not hold a valid Agricultural Chemical User Permit), the name and address of the person supervising the application. Supervision is defined as being within sight and sound.
8. Name and address of the person for whom the application was carried out: Full name and address of the person requesting the application (i.e. where the applicator is a licensed spray contractor applying chemicals for a fee or reward).
9. Wind speed and direction at the time of application: These details should be the conditions at the time and place of application, not just the regional conditions that day. A description of ‘light winds’ is not precise enough. A description such as ‘wind 4-8 km/h from the NW’ is required and is also more useful if you need to review the effectiveness of your chemical use at a later date. Measuring devices such as automatic weather stations or portable weather measuring devices can be useful.
10. Date the baiting period began: The actual date you first laid the baits.
11. Date the baiting period ended: The date baiting concluded.
Recording Veterinary Chemical Use
New record keeping requirements apply to individuals who treat stock animals (i.e. any animal used as or to produce food for humans) using a veterinary chemical product that is classified as a Schedule 4 Poison or any animal health product which has a withholding period.
The following records must be made within 48 hours of using a veterinary chemical product and kept for a period of two years from the date of use:
- Product trade name
- Species of the animal
- Location of the animal
- Identification number (if known) or description of the animal
- Date/s the animal was treated with the product
- Quantity of the product used for each treatment
Exemptions
Veterinary practitioners are exempt from these requirements, as they have different record keeping requirements.
Explanatory Notes
- Product trade name: The full name of the product should be recorded to avoid confusion. Many products on the market have similar names but different concentrations, approved uses and rates, so be specifi c.
- Species of the animal: The species of the animal being treated (e.g. cow, pig, sheep).
- Location of the animal: This must be detailed enough to allow a person who is unfamiliar with the location to identify it. Paddock and property identifiers may be used (e.g. home farm - dam paddock, Logan’s block - front paddock).
- Identifi cation number (if known) or description of the animal: Any identifi cation number (e.g. NLIS) or description (e.g. colour, breed, age, size of mob/fl ock/herd) that can be used to identify the treated animal.
- Date/s the animal was treated with the product: The actual date you treated the animal. If treatment was administered over a period of time, write down each date.
- Quantity of the product used for each treatment: The exact quantity used (e.g. 20 mL, 100 mL/1000 L water, 1 tube, 1 tablet) for each treatment needs to be recorded. The product label or advice note provided by a veterinary practitioner should contain this information.
Record Keeping Format
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Sample record keeping templates available from DPI. |
You may keep your records in a format that suits you (e.g. hand written, computer generated, using record books or as part of a quality assurance program). The only requirement is that they contain all the required information, are clear, accurate and must be readily available to a DPI authorised offi cer upon request.
Sample record keeping templates for recording the use of agricultural chemicals, poison baits and veterinary chemicals are available from the DPI Chemical Standards website at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/chemicalstandards, under ‘Application Forms’.
Benefits of Keeping Records
Keeping records of agricultural and veterinary chemical use is not just a matter of complying with the law, records can demonstrate that you are following good agricultural practice and even assist you improve your operation.
Records are an excellent point of reference that can be used to review previous pest management practices and to calculate the quantity of chemical product you will need for the next application. They can also be used to evaluate how well a chemical worked, which can save both time and money.
Making records at the time of application only takes a few minutes and also demonstrates that you have assessed risks and checked application rates, wind speed and withholding periods before applying the product. Irrespective of how chemical use records are used, their
usefulness will depend on the quality of records you keep.
Further Information
DPI Chemical Standards Branch
Customer Service Centre: 136 186 Website: www.dpi.vic.gov.au/chemicalstandards
Provides information on:
- agricultural and veterinary chemical use legislation
- sample record keeping templates
- licence and permit information
- Chemical Standards Field Services.
Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents
Website: www.legislation.vic.gov.au
Current legislation is available for download.
Information Victoria Bookshop
505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Call Centre: 1300 366 356
Website: www.bookshop.vic.gov.au
Sells authorised hard copies of current legislation.
ISBN 978-1-74199-543-5 Printed by: Print Dynamics, 25 Lionel Rd, Mount Waverly.
