Under the NSW Pesticides Act 1999 anyone who uses pesticides in his job or business must be trained and hold a valid licence.

The term pesticides includes herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, baits, lures and rodenticides (rat poison).

Also, under the Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011, anyone who uses hazardous chemicals must be trained.

ChemCert AQF 3 Accreditation enables participants to use, purchase and spray restricted chemicals and pesticides unsupervised and it is recognised by the Office of Environment and Heritage as meeting the training requirements of the NSW Pesticides Act 1999.

If you use pesticides as part of your work you should be aware there have been some changes to training and licensing requirements in NSW. From 1 July 2018 individuals who spray weeds for fee or reward must hold a ground applicator licence. If you engage or contract a ground applicator it is your responsibility to ensure they hold the required licence.

Please view the factsheet from the EPA if you are unsure about whether your work requires the licence

To apply for a ground applicator licence you need to have completed the ChemCert AQF3 Chemical Accreditation and attained the units. These training requirements, including the approved units of competency, can be found on the EPA website. The licence period is five years; in order to reapply you must hold a current ground applicator licence.

You can do this online, simply navigate to the following EPA hosted application page.

You will need to have a copy of your AQF3 Chemical Accreditation Certificate/SOA to provide the EPA as part of the application process.

Once you have obtained your ground applicator licence you will not be required to complete the five-yearly retraining as long as you hold a current licence. However, it is always a good idea to ensure you keep your work skills up to date with regular training for best management practice.

The training provided on 1080 use is minimal, but does cover the basic safety and use. For more indepth training, you may complete the LLS course for more specific training.

The 1080 and pindone pesticide control orders set out training requirements for the use of these pesticides. Within the last 5 years, you must have completed

• Mandatory pesticide user training to AQF level 3, or
• The Vertebrate Pesticide Training course delivered through Local Land Services

Note: If you use pesticides, other than vertebrate pesticides, you would be required to meet the general training requirements under the Pesticides Regulation 2017.

For more information on 1080 use requirements please visit the NSW EPA website.

In South Australia, Schedule 7 chemicals may only be sold or supplied to a person who holds a current Chemical Accreditation, like ChemCert AQF3, or to a person who holds a pest control licence issued by SA Health (see below).

The Chemical Accreditation card expires after 5 years, at which time a Re-Accreditation is required. The expectation to attend further training every 5 years recognises the fact that legislation and best-practices might change significantly over time.

In addition to the legal requirements for chemical training, most quality assurance programs for primary producers require formal chemical training for those who use chemical substances in their workplace.

Persons wishing to apply Schedule 5, 6 or 7 pesticides for fee or reward (e.g. spray contractors, commercial operators) in SA are required to hold the appropriate licence or licences under the SA Controlled Substances (Pesticides) Regulations.

To be eligible to apply for a Full Pest Management Technician’s licence in SA, additional modules of training are required depending on what licence endorsement or type of pest control work is intended to be undertaken. Please contact Controlled Substances Licensing, SA Health on (08) 8226 7100 or healthcontrolledsubstances@sa.gov.au to find out more about pest control licensing.

All commercial users (user or person applying the herbicide) of specific Group I herbicides (i.e. 2,4-D, 2, 4-DB, MCPA, dicamba, triclopyr, picloram, clopyralid and fluroxypyr) must hold, as a minimum, a current statement of attainment for a prescribed qualification incorporating the competency (AHCCHM303A) ‘Prepare and Apply Chemicals’.

This competency requirement forms part of the current suite of prescribed chemical training courses offered by qualified training providers already. The regulations apply to broad acre agricultural users, licensed contractors and local government spray activities but not home gardener, lifestyle property owner or industrial site users.

In Victoria a Standard Agricultural Chemical Users Permit (ACUP) is required for users of agricultural chemical products that: are Schedule 7 poisons (DANGEROUS POISONS), contain atrazine, metham sodium or ester formulations of 2,4-D, 2,4-DB, MCPA or triclopyr.

Successful completion of the ChemCERT AQF3 course allows participants to apply to the Agriculture Victoria for a standard Agricultural Chemical Users Permit (ACUP), which is valid for 10 years.

Agricultural Chemical Users Permit (ACUP) with 1080 and PAPP endorsement is required for the purchase and use of pest animal bait products that contain 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) or PAPP (4-aminopropiophenone).

On completion of the ChemCERT AQF3 and 1080 VIC course you will be able to apply for an ACUP with a 1080 and PAPP endorsement, which is valid for 10 years.

1. Complete the ChemCERT AQF3 Course and, if applying for the 1080 and PAPP endorsement, the ChemCERT 1080 Course
2. Send certified copies of your statements of Attainment from ChemCERT to Agriculture Victoria along with your ACUP application form
3. Apply for an ACUP with or without the additional 1080 endorsement and pay the fee – as at 1 July 2023 this fee is $60.40 for 10 years. There is no additional fee for the adding another endorsement to an existing ACUP

In Queensland an Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control (ACDC) licence (also called a Commercial Operator Licence / COL) is required for those who ground spray herbicides with a powered machine as part of a job on land they don’t own or occupy.

Successful completion of the ChemCERT AQF3 course allows participants to apply to the Biosecurity Queensland for an ACDC licence.

1. Complete ChemCERT AQF3 Course
2. Use the business.gov.au form to apply for your licence
3. Send a certified copy of the ChemCERT statement of attainment to
   Biosecurity Queensland and apply for ACDC licence, for a
   term of one or three years

All persons who apply pesticides for reward are required under the Health (Pesticides) Regulations 2011 to hold a current licence with the Department of Health and the prescribed units of competence will vary according to industry type. ChemCert provides several nationally recognised units which can be applied.

You must complete these units if you plan to use mechanical equipment such as boom spraying, quad-bike mounted equipment, broad acre spraying equipment or air blast equipment.

• AHCCHM307 – Prepare and apply chemicals to control pest, weeds and diseases,
• AHCCHM304 – Transport and Store Chemicals,
• AHCPMG301 – Control Weeds,
• AHCPMG302 – Control Plant Pests, Diseases and Disorders,
• AHCCHM404 – Develop procedures to minimise risks in the use of chemicals,
• AHCCHM405 – Plan and implement a chemical use program

Achieved through successful completion of: AQF3, AQF4, Control Weeds, Control Plant Pests, Diseases and Disorders

Dieback control alone:

• AHCCHM307 – Prepare and apply chemicals to control pest, weeds and diseases,
• AHCCHM304 – Transport and Store Chemicals,
• AHCPMG302 – Control Plant Pests, Diseases and Disorders,

Achieved through successful completion of: AQF3, Control Plant Pests, Diseases and Disorders

Basic weed control – lawn and garden, landscaping, bushland/mine site rehabilitation:

• AHCCHM307 – Prepare and apply chemicals to control pest, weeds and diseases,
• AHCCHM304 – Transport and Store Chemicals,
• AHCPMG301 – Control Weeds,

Achieved through successful completion of: AQF3, Control Weeds

For more specific information contact Department of Health (WA)

Ph: (08) 9388-4864 or (08) 9388-4999 Fax: (08) 9382-0770

Email: pesticidesafety@health.wa.gov.au
Website: health.wa.gov.au

Department of Agriculture & Food Western Australia – WA

Department of Health – WA – Pesticide Licence

Users of Schedule 7 (Dangerous Poisons) and Restricted Chemical Products registered as agricultural chemical products by APVMA, require specific training, such as ChemCert, to obtain an authorisation from Department of Resources (DoR) to use pesticides.

Also anybody that applies chemicals for a fee must be licensed by the DoR (applicators licence).

1. Complete a ChemCert AQF3 Course
2. Take the statement of Attainment to Department of Resources to
   apply for Applicators Licence.

Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries (DPIF)

If you apply agricultural chemical products for a commercial spraying business, you must hold a Certificate of Competency that is relevant to the type of work you do.

Certificates of Competency may be issued to operators who have completed recognised accredited training such as ChemCert AQF3 in the use of agricultural chemicals. A certificate will specify the types of spraying work you may do.