Update – 30 March 2026
Summary of submissions released
Thank you to those who sent in feedback about this consultation.
We've prepared a summary of the submissions we received.
For individuals
Mā te takitahi
Proposed amendments to Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (Exemptions and Prohibited Substances) Regulations 2011
Background to this consultation
New Zealand Food Safety identified, and sought feedback on, 4 broad categories of amendments to the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (Exemptions and Prohibited Substances) Regulations 2011.
The proposed changes were intended to:
- improve accessibility of the regulations
- create greater certainty and confidence in the regulations
- reduce compliance and operational costs
- improve fairness by providing a more flexible and effective exemption regime.
Summary of the proposed changes
We proposed changes to regulations 3 to 15 and changes to schedules 1 and 2. These included:
- amending some specific regulations
- adding new categories of compounds exempt from registration. These have a risk profile that indicates they do not require a higher level of regulatory oversight
- amending several existing exemptions in Schedule 2. Some amendments are to rationalise entries and conditions to improve consistency and provide new consolidated groupings. Other amendments are proposed to better align with re-assessed risk profiles for the compound groups
- moving lists of substances restricted from use as exempted agricultural compounds or as ingredients in exempted agricultural compounds in food-producing animals from guidelines to the ACVM regulations. This proposed amendment aims to satisfy requirements for exports to Europe and some other trading partners.
Full details about the proposed changes and the rationale were in the consultation document.
Submissions closed at 5pm on 3 August 2025.
Consultation document
Proposed amendments to agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines regulations [PDF, 950 KB]
Related document: the existing regulations
Background information about exemptions and prohibited substances
The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 prescribes a product registration process for agricultural compounds, which includes veterinary medicines, horticultural chemicals, and other compounds used in the management of plants and animals.
The act also enables an exemption from registration for certain classes of agricultural compounds, provided they meet the requirements of the ACVM regulations.
The ACVM regulations also contain a list of substances that cannot be supplied as agricultural compounds in New Zealand. The proposed amendments did not alter this list.
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 to 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation
Our privacy commitment
The Privacy Act 2020 applies to all submissions. Any personal information you provide will be used only for the purpose of informing this consultation. All submissions will be read by MPI staff. MPI may also use artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise content and identify key themes. All AI outputs will be subject to human review.
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