Commonwealth Numbered Acts

AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY CHEMICALS ACT 1988 No. 91 of 1988 - SECT 4

4. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"active constituent", in relation to a chemical product, means:

   (a)  if a chemical product is not a formulated product-the chemical of
        which the product is comprised; or

   (b)  if the chemical product is a formulated product-the chemical that is
        principally responsible, or the chemicals that together are
        principally responsible, for its biological effects;

"agricultural chemical product" means a substance or mixture of substances
that is represented to be a means of directly or indirectly:

   (a)  destroying, stupefying, inhibiting, attracting or repelling a pest in
        relation to a plant, a place or a thing;

   (b)  destroying a plant;

   (c)  modifying the physiology of a plant so as to alter its natural
        development, productivity or reproductive capacity; or

   (d)  modifying the effect of another agricultural chemical product;
but does not include:

   (e)  a veterinary chemical product; or

   (f)  a substance or mixture of substances of a kind that is declared by the
        regulations not to be an agricultural chemical product for the
        purposes of this Act;

"animal" does not include man but includes the semen, ova or embryo of an
animal other than man or any other substance or thing directly relevant to the
reproduction of an animal other than man;

"chemical product" means an agricultural chemical product or a veterinary
chemical product;

"certificate of clearance", in respect of a chemical product, means:

   (a)  a certificate issued under section 15 clearing the chemical product
        for registration in particular States and Territories; or

   (b)  a certificate issued under section 16 or 17 in substitution for such a
        certificate;

"Chemicals Co-ordinator" means the officer of the Department who is from time
to time designated by the Secretary of the Department to be the Chemicals
Co-ordinator for the purpose of this Act;

"clearance", in respect of a chemical product, means the clearance of that
chemical product for registration in particular States and Territories as
evidenced by the issue of a certificate of clearance in respect of that
chemical product;

"committee" means a committee established under section 25;

"confidential commercial information", in relation to a chemical product or a
constituent thereof, means:

   (a)  a trade secret relating to the chemical product or constituent;

   (b)  any other information relating to the chemical product or constituent
        that has a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be
        expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were
        disclosed; or

   (c)  information (other than trade secrets or information to which
        paragraph (b) applies) concerning the lawful commercial or financial
        affairs of a person, organisation or undertaking, being affairs:

        (i)    relating to the manufacture, distribution or sale of the
               chemical product or constituent; and

        (ii)   in respect of which the person, organisation or undertaking
               could be unreasonably affected in an adverse manner by the
               disclosure of the information;

"Council" means the Australian Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Council
established by section 8;

"designated Minister", in relation to a State or Territory that is a scheme
participant, means:

   (a)  if that scheme participant is a State or the Northern Territory and
        there is only one Minister of that State or Territory responsible for
        regulation of the use of chemical products generally in that State or
        Territory-that Minister;

   (b)  if that scheme participant is a State or the Northern Territory and
        there are different Ministers of that State or Territory responsible
        for regulation of the use of chemical products of different kinds in
        that State or Territory-that one of those Ministers who is designated
        for the purpose by, or in a manner specified in, the agreement by
        reference to which the State or Territory became a scheme participant;
        and

   (c)  if that scheme participant is the Australian Capital Territory-the
        Minister of the Commonwealth responsible for regulation of the use of
        chemical products in that Territory;

"member" means a member of the Council and includes the Chairperson;

"pest", in relation to any animal, plant, thing or place, means:

   (a)  so far as any animal, plant or thing is concerned, any animal, plant
        or other biological entity that injuriously affects the physical
        condition, worth or utility of the first-mentioned animal, plant or
        thing; and

   (b)  so far as any place is concerned, any animal, plant or other
        biological entity that injuriously affects the use or enjoyment of
        that place;

"plant" includes a seed or cutting of a plant, or any other part or product of
a plant directly relevant to the production of another plant;

"published literature", in relation to a particular matter, means all
documents, in whatever form, that relate to that matter and that are
accessible to the public;

"residue", in relation to a chemical product, means the remains of that
chemical product persisting in or on food, other agricultural commodities,
plants, animals, soil, water or other environmental components, together with
all derivatives, metabolites and degradation products of that chemical
product;

"scheme participant" means a State, the Northern Territory, or the Australian
Capital Territory if that State or Territory is declared by the Minister, by
notice published in the Gazette under subsection (3), to be a
scheme participant;

"substance" includes:

   (a)  an organism;

   (b)  material that is produced from an organism; and

   (c)  matter the production of which involves the use of an organism;
but does not include a vaccine prepared from organisms from the body of an
animal for use only in the treatment of that animal;

"veterinary chemical product" means a substance or mixture of substances that
is represented to be a means of directly or indirectly:

   (a)  preventing, diagnosing, curing or alleviating a disease or condition
        in an animal or an infestation of an animal by a pest in relation to
        that animal;

   (b)  curing or alleviating an injury suffered by an animal; or

   (c)  modifying the physiology of an animal:

        (i)    so as to alter its natural development, productivity or
               reproductive capacity; or

        (ii)   so as to make it more manageable;
but does not include:

   (d)  such a substance or mixture of substances prepared by a pharmacist or
        veterinary surgeon, in the course of the practice of his or her
        profession, to deal with a particular condition of a particular animal
        in a particular instance;

   (e)  animal feed in relation to which none of the effects referred to in
        paragraph (a), (b) or (c) are claimed; or

   (f)  a substance or mixture of substances of a kind that is declared by the
        regulations not to be a veterinary chemical product for the purposes
        of this Act.

(2) Where reference is made in a provision of this Act to the registering
authority of a State or Territory that is a scheme participant then, in the
application of that provision in respect of chemical products or chemical
products of a particular kind, that reference shall be taken to be a
reference:

   (a)  to the Governmental entity of that State or Territory; or

   (b)  to the body or organisation established by or under the laws of that
        State or Territory; that is principally responsible, under the laws of
        that State or Territory, for the registration or approval (however
        described) of chemical products generally, or of chemical products of
        that kind, for use in that State or Territory.

(3) Where the Minister is satisfied:

   (a)  that a State or the Northern Territory has entered into an agreement
        with the Commonwealth, in terms substantially similar to the terms of
        the agreement set out in the Schedule; or

   (b)  that an Ordinance of the Australian Capital Territory makes
        satisfactory provision for the clearance of chemical products under
        this Act to constitute the basis, except in exceptional circumstances
        referred to in that Ordinance, for regulating the use of those
        chemical products in the Australian Capital Territory; the Minister
        shall, by notice published in the Gazette, declare that State, the
        Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory, as the case
        requires, to be a scheme participant for the purposes of this Act.

(4) In this Act, a reference to the place of residence of a person shall, in a
case where that person is a body corporate, be taken to be a reference to the
State or Territory where that body corporate is incorporated.

(5) For the purposes of this Act:

   (a)  a clearance of a chemical product shall be taken to have been granted
        when a certificate of clearance in respect of that chemical product is
        issued;

   (b)  the conditions to which the clearance of a chemical product is subject
        shall be taken to have been varied when the certificate of clearance
        in which the clearance for registration of that chemical product is
        expressed to be subject to those conditions is revoked and another
        certificate of clearance in which the clearance for registration of
        that chemical product is expressed to be subject to different
        conditions is substituted; and

   (c)  a clearance of a chemical product shall be taken to have been
        withdrawn when the certificate of clearance in respect of that
        chemical product is revoked and another certificate in respect of that
        chemical product is not substituted.