15

15 Reconsideration and review of assessments

(1) A person who is affected by an assessment made by the APVMA may, if dissatisfied with the assessment, by written notice given to the APVMA within 21 days after the day on which the person first received notice of the assessment, or within any further period that the APVMA allows, request the APVMA to reconsider the assessment. (2) The person must set out in the request reasons for making the request. (3) Upon receipt of the request, the APVMA must reconsider the assessment and, subject to subsection (4), may confirm or revoke the assessment or vary the assessment in any manner that it thinks fit. (4) If the APVMA does not confirm, revoke or vary an assessment before the end of 21 days after the day on which it received the request under subsection (1) to reconsider the assessment, it is taken, at the end of that period, to have confirmed the assessment under subsection (3). (5) If the APVMA confirms, revokes or varies an assessment before the end of the period referred to in subsection (4), it must, by written notice given to the person making the request, tell the person the result of the reconsideration of the assessment and the reasons for confirming, varying or revoking the assessment, as the case may be. (6) A failure to comply with subsection (5) does not affect the validity of the confirmation, revocation or variation. (7) Applications may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of assessments of the APVMA that have been confirmed or varied under subsection (3). (8) If, as a result of an application made under paragraph 31(b), the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has reviewed a determination made by the APVMA under paragraph 7(a) in relation to a chemical product as at a particular time, the Tribunal is not entitled to alter the determination as so reviewed by it when it is reviewing an assessment to which the determination is relevant. (9) If an assessment is taken, because of subsection (4), to be confirmed, section 29 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 applies as if the prescribed time for making application for review of the assessment were the period beginning on the day on which the assessment is taken to be confirmed and ending on the 28th day after that day. (10) If a request is made under subsection (1) in respect of an assessment, section 41 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 applies as if the making of the request were the making of an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the assessment.