The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) will not return to Canberra, despite a review criticising its relocation. 

The APVMA, Australia's agricultural chemical regulator, will remain in Armidale as the government aims to avoid further upheaval.

The relocation of the APVMA to Armidale in 2016, orchestrated by then-agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, was a decision mired in controversy. 

Joyce, also the local MP, was accused of relocating the APVMA to benefit his electorate, a move that an independent review by Clayton Utz later criticised for creating serious governance and operational disruptions.

This week, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced the government's plan to maintain the APVMA's presence in Armidale, a move he describes as avoiding the previous government's errors. 

“The disruption and chaos caused by Barnaby Joyce when he forcibly relocated the APVMA to his local electorate put a massive strain on the staff at the regulator, and according to the independent review ‘has had serious impacts on the performance and culture of the APVMA’,” Watt said. 

In contrast to the previous policy requiring all APVMA staff to be Armidale-based, Watt said that the authority would now align with other federal agencies, offering flexibility in staff location to combat recruitment challenges and ensuring the best talent could be engaged regardless of geographical location.

The government says it supports many of the 33 recommendations from the independent review conducted by Ken Matthews AO, although it was noted that some recommendations would be addressed differently.

The government has decided to keep the APVMA as an independent statutory authority, countering Matthews’ recommendation to integrate it into the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and to dissolve its board. 

Despite the support for the APVMA's continued independence and the rejection of a complete relocation back to Canberra, former minister Joyce criticised the flexibility in staff location as a “back door shutdown” of the APVMA's presence in Armidale. 

He argued that despite the government's declarations, the practical outcome would be a diminished local operation, pointing out the recent trend of filling executive positions in Canberra.

Mr Watt and various stakeholders, including the National Farmers' Federation, believe these changes are necessary to address past missteps and to improve the APVMA's functionality. 

The Federal Government plans to release a full response to all recommendations in mid-2024, following further development by the APVMA Reform Taskforce.

More information is available here.