The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) says it has committed to a range of performance improvement measures recommended in a recent independent review.
“The report outlines recommendations against three broad themes: improve the use of regulatory instruments; build more efficient assessment processes; and modify legislation, cost recovery and reporting methods to better position the agency to deliver,” said CEO Dr Chris Parker said.
“The review confirms the fluctuations and volatility in our workload, and that the range in quality and complexity of applications we receive makes it difficult to meet the legislated performance measure of 100 per cent on-time assessments.
“What’s clear from the review is that there is no silver bullet. There are multiple factors contributing to delays in the assessment of agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals in Australia and these factors must be addressed through a considered and coordinated program of reform.
“The priority right now is to prepare our people and operations for Armidale. So our focus is on implementing those recommendations that lay a strong foundation for the future APVMA operations in Armidale where further improvements will be made.
“We want to deliver an efficient and cost effective service for registrants and ensure access to safe and effective agvet chemicals for all Australians, and we will.”
The organisation said immediate priorities included: better use of legislative instruments; exploring earlier rejections of poor quality submissions; improved management of backlogs; and, lowering sign off of decisions to assessment teams.