Agricultural Chemical Management Policy

Purpose. This policy sets the rules for purchasing, storing, transporting, applying, recording and disposing of agricultural and veterinary chemicals at every Greenfield site.

1.Purpose and scope

Greenfield uses herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilisers and veterinary chemicals across farm, nursery, parks and conservation work. Misuse harms people, crops, livestock, waterways and the business's reputation. This policy applies to every worker who handles, transports or applies a chemical and to every supervisor who plans chemical work.

2.Legal basis

Chemical use is governed by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992 (Victoria) and the label of each registered product. The label is the law: workers must not apply a product to a crop, site or pest not on the label, at a rate above the label rate, or in a way the label prohibits. Restricted use chemicals require the appropriate permit.

3.Competence and accreditation

Only workers who hold current chemical user accreditation recognised by Greenfield will plan or apply chemicals unsupervised. Trainees will work under the direct supervision of an accredited worker. The Business and Compliance Manager will maintain the accreditation register and will not roster a worker to chemical work whose accreditation has lapsed.

4.Storage and transport

Chemicals must be stored in the locked, bunded, ventilated chemical store at each site, segregated by class, with safety data sheets in the store and on the shared drive. Chemicals must be transported in the sealed spray vehicle cabinet or approved containers, never in a vehicle cab. Spill kits must travel with every chemical load.

• Locked store, bunded floor, class segregation
• Safety data sheet for every product on site
• Original labelled containers only
• Empty containers triple rinsed and held for the container recycling program

5.Application and records

Every application must be planned against the label, the weather forecast and the Chemical Use and Storage Register, and the record must be completed before the sprayer leaves the shed and finalised on return. Records must show the product, rate, target, area, weather, applicator and withholding period, and must be kept for at least two years. Spray drift onto neighbouring land, waterways or sensitive sites is prohibited.

6.Health surveillance

Workers who regularly apply organophosphate or carbamate products will be offered health monitoring. Any worker who feels unwell during or after chemical work must stop, decontaminate, report to their supervisor and complete an Incident and Hazard Report Form.

7.Review

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Irrigation and Plant Supervisor and after any chemical incident or change in legislation.