termitebarrier.com.au · Sheet 04
Sheet 04The chemistry
Termiticides and the APVMA
Any chemical in a termite management system must be on the pesticides register, and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) currently coordinates that registration scheme. The APVMA assesses and registers chemicals up to the point of sale, and the states and territories control how they are used after that. Chlorpyrifos, used for termite control as a soil treatment, lost most of its agricultural and urban pest control uses in the APVMA’s final decision of October 2024.
General information, not chemical or building advice. The official place to check a product is the APVMA’s register, linked at the foot of this page.
Where the code meets the register
The building code never names a chemical. Clause 3.4.2 says only that, for a chemical system, “the chemical must be included on the appropriate authority’s pesticides register”. QBCC’s booklet says the standard works the same way: the chemical section of AS 3660.1 refers to no specific chemical and allows any chemical registered for the purpose by the APVMA, which leaves room for chemicals approved in future.
The register also reaches the wall of the house. The durable notice must give a chemical’s life expectancy “as listed on the appropriate authority’s register label”. (Sheet 02 reads the notice line by line.)
The regulator, the states, and the person applying it
The APVMA
Evaluates, registers and regulates agricultural and veterinary chemicals up to the point of sale, under the Agvet Code. It can reconsider a chemical’s approval, a product’s registration or a label at any time after registration. It does not monitor or enforce how chemicals are used.
The states and territories
Control the use of pesticides beyond the point of retail sale, in some states through more than one agency. Once a registered product reaches the person using it, state and territory laws, codes of practice and operating procedures govern its use.
The APVMA puts the first responsibility on the user: the directions approved for each registered product’s label have to be followed, parts of them carry legal force, and misuse can bring fines, court action and even criminal charges. Anyone who suspects wrong or illegal use is asked to tell their state or territory government authority straight away.
Looking a product up
All registered products and approved active constituents are listed in the APVMA’s PubCRIS database, and many records include the label’s safety and use directions. Two limits are worth knowing: PubCRIS leaves out products whose registration was refused, and some exempt products appear on neither PubCRIS nor the permits database.
The chemicals in use, and how long they last
CSIRO’s guide names the main soil chemicals used today as bifenthrin, imidacloprid, fipronil and chlorantraniliprole, and says most insecticides give at least three to five years of protection. Victoria’s health department draws a line between two kinds: repellent chemicals such as bifenthrin are common as barriers, while non-repellent ones such as imidacloprid and fipronil may hold up better where coverage is uncertain, for example when injected through concrete.
Where a slab has a reticulation system under it, CSIRO notes, insecticide can be pumped into it to replenish the soil treatment. That matters because the life is limited. QBCC says most chemicals used in termite management have a limited life span, and recommends asking the manufacturer about a product’s life expectancy and the label conditions that apply when it is used in a termite management system.
Chlorpyrifos, from the home to the review
Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide. Its termite uses, as the APVMA’s technical report described them, were a pre-construction soil application, listed as a Restricted Chemical Product, and post-construction soil injection and barrier sprays. Its registration was narrowed in steps:
- 2000Interim decision
A number of products for use around the home were cancelled.
- 2019Interim decision
All home garden and domestic uses were cancelled, along with uses that could expose children.
- 11 March 2024Consultation closes
Public consultation on the proposed decision ended.
- 3 October 2024Final decision
The APVMA announced its final regulatory decision, removing most agricultural and urban pest control uses, mainly because of worker health and safety and environmental risks it does not believe can be mitigated.
- 12 months afterPhase-out
A phase-out period for cancelled products and for label changes on the rest. Products already in the supply chain could be used up, but not made or imported.
The decision affected 52 registered products held by 54 holders, and 23 approved active constituents: three products were cancelled, the rest varied and affirmed with limited uses, and six active constituents cancelled.
For termites, the technical report is specific. Its worker health and safety assessment did not support soil injection or mechanically pressurised handgun application for termiticide soil barriers around and under buildings, other than reticulated or AS 3660 systems, or around poles. Its table of uses not supported lists chemical soil barriers around buildings, including reticulated or AS 3660 systems, under buildings and around poles; its table of uses supported by every risk assessment includes treating a termite nest or colony in wall cavities.
That is why the register and the notice belong together. The notice records a chemical’s life expectancy as listed on the register label, and PubCRIS shows what is registered today, so a product named on a notice can be checked against the register as it stands now.