Draft notice of approved units of competency for training required by the Pesticides Regulation

Since 1 September 2005, the Pesticides Regulation 1995 has required most people who use pesticides in their job or business to obtain a prescribed qualification within the last five years.

Most users are expected to achieve specific national units of competency in chemical use at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level 3. The units of competency that must be achieved are specified in a notice that is approved in accordance with clause 8 of the NSW Pesticides Regulation 1995.

As part of the recent review of the Pesticides Regulation, a new draft notice of approved units of competency (09151draftcompunits.pdf; 213kb) was prepared.

There are two main changes in the proposed new notice:

• The circumstances in which it is acceptable to only achieve competency at AQF Level 2 have been clarified. Specifically, the new notice states that those who achieve this level should only use pesticides under supervision.
• The notice refers to the new draft versions of the chemical use competency units that have been prepared by the Agrifood Industry Skills Council and which are expected to be endorsed later this year. Further information is available from the Agrifood Industry Skills Council website.

Separate training requirements apply to aerial pesticides applicators and pest management technicians (pest controllers) and fumigators licensed by WorkCover NSW. Pesticide training provides more details on all the requirements, including the current notice of approved competencies.

Written comments on the draft notice were accepted up to Friday 17 April 2009. The notice will be finalised once the new Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package is endorsed.