Image: Some herbicides to control bindii and clover may be withdrawn from the home garden market with changes to the regulations around bromoxynil.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) will take regulatory action on all products containing more than 1.5 per cent weight/volume (w/v) of bromoxynil from February 1, 2025.
This follows a scheduling decision made by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the regulatory agency responsible for poison scheduling, to reclassify these products from a Schedule 6 ‘Poison’ to a Schedule 7 ‘Dangerous Poison’.
The APVMA had previously advised that it would take regulatory action from June 1, 2024 however, on April 17, 2024 the TGA published a revised notice of final decision to amend (or not amend) the current Poison Standard in relation to bromoxynil, which has delayed the implementation of the decision until February 1, 2025. All other aspects of the TGA’s decision remain the same.
Angie Thomas, Horticultural Communications Manager at Yates, explains that not all products will be affected.
“What has happened is that formulations containing greater than 1.5 per cent bromoxynil are being rescheduled from schedule 6 to schedule 7. Schedule 7 products are not suitable to be sold to home gardeners, so concentrated bromoxynil herbicides are being phased out.
Less concentrated bromoxynil-based formulations (1.5 per cent bromoxynil or less) will remain as schedule 6 (‘Poison’ heading on the label) and still be available for home gardeners. This includes products like hose-on Yates Weed’n’Feed Buffalo Lawn.
