7Functions and powers

#### 7 Functions and powers (1) The APVMA has any functions and powers that are conferred on it by or under this Act or the Agvet Code, or the Agvet Regulations, of the participating Territories. (1A) The functions of the APVMA include the following: (a) to assess the suitability for supply in Australia of active constituents for proposed or existing chemical products, chemical products and labels for containers for chemical products; (b) to provide information to the Governments and authorities of the Commonwealth, the States and the participating Territories about approved active constituents for proposed or existing chemical products, registered chemical products, reserved chemical products and approved labels for containers for chemical products and to co‑operate with those Governments and authorities on matters relating to the management and control of chemical products; (c) to keep records and statistics of approvals and registrations granted, and permits and licences issued, by it under the Agvet Codes; (d) to evaluate the effects of the use of chemical products in the States and participating Territories; (e) to co‑operate with Governments and authorities of the Commonwealth, the States and the participating Territories for the purpose of facilitating a consistent approach to the assessment and control of chemicals; (f) in co‑operation with Governments and authorities of the Commonwealth, the States and the participating Territories, to develop codes of practice, standards and guidelines for, and to recommend precautions to be taken in connection with, the manufacture, export, import, sale, handling, possession, storage, disposal and use of chemical products in the States and participating Territories; (g) to collect, interpret, disseminate and publish information relating to chemical products and their use; (h) to encourage and facilitate the application and use of results of evaluation and testing of chemical products; (i) to exchange information relating to chemical products and their use with overseas and international bodies having functions similar to the APVMA’s functions; (j) when requested by the Minister, or on its own initiative, to report to or advise the Minister on any matter relating to chemical products or arising in the course of the performance of its functions; (k) to encourage and facilitate the introduction of uniform national procedures for control of the use of chemical products; (l) to fund, and co‑operate in, a program designed to ensure that active constituents for proposed or existing chemical products, chemical products, and labels for containers for chemical products, comply with the Agvet Codes and the Agvet Regulations. (1B) Expressions used in subsection (1A) have the same meanings as in the Code set out in the Schedule to the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994. (1C) The APVMA has any functions and powers that are conferred on it by Division 2A of Part 3 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. (2) The APVMA has any functions and powers that are expressed to be conferred on it by a law of a State. (3) The APVMA has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done in connection with the performance of its functions and, in particular, may: (a) enter into contracts; and (b) acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property; and (c) occupy, use and control any land or building owned or held under lease by the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory and made available for the purposes of the APVMA; and (d) appoint agents and attorneys, and act as agent for other persons; and (da) make available to the public, either without charge or upon payment of a fee to the APVMA, manuals, reports, lists of requirements and other documents; and (e) do anything incidental to any of its powers. (4) In the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers, the APVMA is to have regard to the Commonwealth Government’s policy in relation to the principle of ecologically sustainable development and, in particular, to the need to use, conserve and enhance the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased.