The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has harshly criticized the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for falling short on reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of regulation in the AUD$3 billion (US$2.26 billion) agricultural chemicals sector. 

The audit sought to assess how well the authority had implemented legislative reforms, and concluded governance of delivering the reform program has been ineffective while projects outcomes required ongoing mediation. 

"While key legislative reforms were implemented by the legislated timeframe of July 2014, the full scope of the reform program is yet to be implemented more than four years since the legislative amendments were developed," the ANAO said.

"Further, the Authority is not well placed to determine the extent to which reform objectives have been met in the absence of a robust set of performance measures. 

"The ongoing assessment of agvet product and chemical applications in the post-reform period has not been supported with fit-for-purpose workflow management systems and a robust quality control framework."

In a release, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce said the report reinforced his government's decision to restructure the agency; a move that includes relocation in partnership with the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales.

"This audit finds significant weaknesses in how the APVMA has implemented the government’s 2014 agvet chemical legislative reforms and says the business practices, systems, risk management and governance arrangements employed by the agency are just not good enough," Joyce said.

"The report finds that the ongoing poor culture and governance arrangements have the potential to impact on future reforms and the success of the APVMA’s relocation to Armidale, not the other way around.

"The reforms we legislated in 2014 were developed as a result of thorough consultation with industry and were meant to reduce the cost burden on industry stakeholders and reduce the red tape."

Joyce emphasized the report found more than two years since the legislation came into effect, measures to cut red tape like introducing a risk-based regulatory framework were yet to be implemented.

"I am really disappointed that the poor implementation of the reforms by the regulator has not delivered the more efficient access to safe effective chemicals that industry urgently need and that’s why this government needs to take significant action to reform the APVMA," Joyce said.

"This is particularly important in the context of the relocation to Armidale. It is vital the APVMA implements a robust risk management framework and oversight arrangements to support business continuity during the establishment of the Centre for Excellence in Armidale."

Photo: ANAO

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