Collaboration with international ACVM regulators

Working with international regulators

New Zealand Food Safety (a business unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries) works with international regulatory partners to give farmers, growers and veterinarians timely access to safe and effective agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines (ACVM) in New Zealand.

Our ACVM team actively participates in international forums, formal bilateral agreements, and reliance-based assessment pathways. These collaborative activities help to reduce duplication of effort. They make best use of global regulatory science. They support innovation while maintaining New Zealand’s regulatory standards. These efforts help reduce processing times and application costs for businesses.

We talk with a range of international regulators to:

• share regulatory knowledge
• align scientific approaches
• explore opportunities for regulatory cooperation.

This includes regular group engagement between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States on agricultural chemicals. The same group, with the addition of Switzerland, also engages on veterinary medicines. These collaborations bring together like-minded regulators to discuss emerging issues, regulatory science, and opportunities for work-sharing and reliance. 

Examples of previous joint initiatives

• A tripartite review with Australia and Canada for a new use for a veterinary medicine product, which was recognised by the Canadian Government for the collaboration by the 3 regulators in 2017.
• For more than 15 years, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) have made use of registration by reference for certain veterinary medicine products. An updated agreement signed in November 2025 has expanded the scope of this collaboration.

Memorandums of understanding

To support international collaboration, New Zealand Food Safety has also signed memorandums of understanding with various regulators, such as:

• the United Kingdom's Veterinary Medicines Directorate
• Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency
• the APVMA. 

These agreements have paved the way for joint reviews, the exchange of information, and guidance alignment, where appropriate.

In November 2025, New Zealand Food Safety signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the APVMA. The update strengthens the long-standing trusted regulator relationship between the 2 agencies. It is designed to streamline regulatory pathways for crop protection products and veterinary medicines by increasing acceptance and reliance on scientific assessments undertaken by either regulator. By reducing duplication and improving regulatory alignment, this initiative aims to support faster access to both markets and to position Australia and New Zealand as an attractive region for new product launches and innovation.

The memorandum supports our ongoing work to enhance the registration-through-reliance pathway, enabling us to leverage assessments and decisions made by trusted overseas regulators, while ensuring outcomes remain appropriate for New Zealand conditions.

MoU between New Zealand Food Safety and the APVMA [PDF, 1.3 MB]

Trans-Tasman registration pilot

Following the MoU, MPI and the APVMA are working together on a pilot to make greater use of each regulator's assessments when considering applications for agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines.

The pilot intends to:

• reduce unnecessary duplication of regulatory effort
• improve efficiency and timeliness of product assessments in New Zealand and Australia
• test future trans-Tasman reliance pathways while maintaining country-specific regulatory requirements.

We continue to seek expressions of interest from companies with:

• new novel (not generic) products intended for registration in both New Zealand and Australia, or
• novel products already registered or under assessment in one country that may be suitable for consideration in the other market.

During the initial phase of the pilot, priority is being given to products where:

• a complete supporting data package is available
• ACVM or APVMA assessment material already exists, or is expected to become available in the near term
• Australian and New Zealand regulatory considerations are broadly comparable.

Expressions of interest will be jointly reviewed by MPI and APVMA. Not all products will be selected for the initial phase. However, products that are not selected may be considered as the pilot expands.

For more information or to express your interest, email approvals@mpi.govt.nz

Enhancing the regulatory pathway for ACVM products

MPI welcomes expressions of interest from registrants who believe their product may be suitable for assessment and registration through one of these pathways – reliance, joint reviews, or harmonised labels.

If you would like to discuss a potential product or seek further information about these pathways, email approvals@mpi.govt.nz

Reliance pathway

As part of its broader transformation programme, MPI continues to expand and strengthen its registration-through-reliance pathway. This pathway allows us to place greater reliance on high-quality assessments conducted by comparable international regulators. This helps to improve efficiency, reduce assessment timeframes, and provide timely access to products for New Zealand users.

Updates on this work are regularly shared through ACVM communications, including the monthly newsletter 'ACVM News & Views'.

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