{"id":"F1999B00332","name":"Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Regulations 1999","slug":"agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"326 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436498,"registerId":"F1999B00332-fast-fetch-1775953678616","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Regulations 1999","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nAgricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Regulations 1999\n\nStatutory Rules 1999 No. 326\n\nI, WILLIAM PATRICK DEANE, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following Regulations under the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994.\n\nDated 15 December 1999.\n\nWILLIAM DEANE\n\nGovernor-General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command,\n\nJUDITH TROETH\n\nParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture,\n\nFisheries and Forestry\n\nfor the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nAgricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Regulations 1999\n\nStatutory Rules 1999 No. 3261\n\nmade under the\n\nAgricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n Page\n\n 1 Name of Regulations \n\n 2 Commencement \n\n 3 Definition \n\n 4 Prescribed functions (Act s 18) \n\n \n\nDo not delete : Part placeholder\n\nDo not delete : Division placeholder\n\n1 Name of Regulations\n\n  These Regulations are the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Regulations 1999.\n\n2 Commencement\n\n  These Regulations commence on gazettal.\n\n3 Definition\n\n  In these Regulations:\n\nAct means the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994.\n\n4 Prescribed functions (Act s 18)\n\n  For section 18 of the Act, the following functions are prescribed in relation to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Commonwealth (the Director):\n\n (a) to begin prosecutions on indictment for indictable offences against the Agvet Code, or the Agvet Regulations, of a State;\n\n (b) to carry on prosecutions of the kind mentioned in paragraph (a), whether or not begun by the Director;\n\n (c) to begin proceedings for the commitment of persons for trial for indictable offences against the Agvet Code, or the Agvet Regulations, of a State;\n\n (d) to begin proceedings for the summary conviction of persons for offences against the Agvet Code, or the Agvet Regulations, of a State;\n\n (e) to carry on proceedings of a kind mentioned in paragraph (c) or (d), whether or not begun by the Director;\n\n (f) to do anything incidental or conducive to the performance of any of the functions mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e).\n\nNote   State includes the Northern Territory — see s 4 of the Act.\n\nNote\n\n1. Made by the Governor-General on 15 December 1999, and notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 22 December 1999. \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is the original 1999 version of the regulations. The scope remains tightly focused on its original purpose: prescribing prosecution functions for the DPP under section 18 of the parent Act. There is no evidence of scope creep in this foundational instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short — only 4 operative provisions","Single defined term ('Act')","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act and state Agvet Codes","Simple list structure in section 4 with no conditional logic or exceptions","Straightforward delegation of functions without thresholds, limits, or procedural requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations assign specific prosecution powers to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for agricultural and veterinary chemical offences.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- The **Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions** — the senior government lawyer who prosecutes serious crimes\n- **State and Territory governments** — because the regulations cover offences under their agricultural and veterinary chemical laws (the \"Agvet Code\" and \"Agvet Regulations\")\n- **People and companies** who breach agricultural or veterinary chemical laws — they may now face prosecution by the Commonwealth DPP\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nNormally, states and territories prosecute their own criminal laws. These regulations create an exception: the Commonwealth's top prosecutor can now step in to prosecute serious (\"indictable\") offences and minor (\"summary\") offences under state/territory agricultural chemical laws. This includes:\n- Starting serious criminal prosecutions\n- Taking over prosecutions already started by someone else\n- Running committal proceedings (the process where a magistrate decides if there's enough evidence for a trial)\n- Prosecuting minor offences directly\n- Doing anything necessary to support these functions\n\nThis creates a national enforcement mechanism for agricultural and veterinary chemical offences, rather than leaving it entirely to state prosecutors."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This regulation implements and clarifies the prosecutorial functions contemplated by section 18 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act 1994 by explicitly prescribing the Director’s functions in relation to State Agvet Codes and Regulations. It does not broaden the substantive scope of regulated activity or create new offences; it only allocates/clarifies who may perform certain prosecutorial actions. Therefore it has not grown significantly beyond the Act’s original purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (4 regulations only).","Single defined term in reg 3 ('Act').","One substantive provision (reg 4) listing six discrete functions (a–f).","Limited cross‑references: refers to the Act (s 18) and to State Agvet Code/Regulations; includes a short note that 'State' includes the Northern Territory.","No nested exceptions, conditional logic, or procedural detail."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations authorize the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to initiate and carry on indictable and summary prosecutions, committal proceedings and related incidental steps in relation to State agricultural and veterinary chemical laws. It affects the Commonwealth DPP, regulated manufacturers/distributors/users, and State authorities/courts. The change does not create new offences but centralises prosecutorial authority, shifting enforcement incentives and resource allocation without altering substantive regulatory duties."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999","history":"/api/acts/agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/agricultural-and-veterinary-chemicals-regulations-1999/documents"}}