Pesticide licence in Victoria: chemical use permits and accreditation

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are Agriculture Victoria, the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992 (authorised version incorporating amendments as at October 22, 2025) and the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Regulations 2017, both on the Victorian legislation site. The agency pages read name no ornamental, shade tree or turf category: the two credentials cover agricultural chemical products in general. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Agency	Agriculture Victoria; the Secretary of the department grants and refuses licences under the Act
Credential for work for a fee or reward	Commercial operator licence, held by the person or business using agricultural chemicals on another person's property, crop or commodity
Credential for restricted chemicals	Agricultural chemical user permit, for Schedule 7 poisons and named products such as atrazine, metham sodium and ester formulations of MCPA, 2,4-D, 2,4-DB and triclopyr
Qualification	Relevant training course completed before applying; no state exam described on the pages read
Fees	Commercial operator licence AU$656.25 for 3 years; user permit AU$65.60 for 10 years. The agency pages give these as application fees without naming a year (pages last updated July 30, 2026 and June 30, 2026), as read on October 9, 2026
Renewal	User permit renewal letter about 2 months before expiry; no new training needed to reapply
Insurance	The Secretary may make an approved insurance policy a licence condition
Reciprocity	Interstate individual licences are recognised under automatic mutual recognition; companies need their own Victorian licence

The commercial operator licence

Agriculture Victoria's page on the commercial operator licence for contractors says it is required by people who use agricultural chemicals on another person's property, crop or commodity for a fee or reward. It covers all ground-based spraying, spreading or dispersing, and leaves out aerial spraying. It lists four endorsements, each with its own training requirement: agricultural chemicals other than vermin destroyers, avicides and fumigants; vermin destroyers and avicides; fumigants; and copper chromium arsenic. A licence can carry any or all of them once the training is done. The application also asks for details of earlier convictions under six named Acts. The page gave an application fee of AU$656.25 and a term of 3 years. The page notes an exemption for specific types of pest controllers licensed by the Department of Health.

The same rule sits in the Act. Section 30 says a person must not carry on a business, or offer a service for fee or reward, that involves using a prescribed chemical product unless the person holds a commercial operator licence and follows its conditions. The penalty is 200 penalty units. Regulation 15 of the 2017 Regulations prescribes all agricultural chemical products for that purpose.

The agricultural chemical user permit

The agency's user permit page says the permit authorises buying restricted supply chemicals and using restricted use chemicals, and does not authorise use on another person's property for a fee or reward. Five endorsement types exist: standard, 1080 and PAPP, pindone concentrate, fumigants, and copper chromium arsenic. All permits run for 10 years with no further training in that time. The application fee was AU$65.60. A conditional permit exists for applicants under 18 for some products, and the page says it is illegal for a person under 18 to possess or use a Schedule 7 poison. Regulation 13 lists the same product classes as ones that must be used as the label or a permit says.

What the Act says about conditions and terms

Schedule 1 of the Act, in the authorised version of the Act, sets the common rules. An authority lasts for the term written in it, not above 10 years. The holder pays the approved fee each year by the due date. The Secretary may refuse a licence if the applicant has a conviction under a relevant Act, and may cancel or suspend for broken conditions or unpaid fees, after giving reasons and a chance to comment. For an applicator certificate, the Secretary may refuse if the applicant has not attended a course or passed an examination the Secretary approved. For a commercial operator licence, the Secretary may require an approved insurance policy and may refuse or cancel without one.

Records and interstate licences

According to regulation 6, a person using an agricultural chemical product must make a written record within 48 hours: trade name, date, rate, crop or situation, location, wind speed and direction for outdoor spraying, and the names of the sprayer, supervisor and customer. The records are kept for 2 years. Household and home garden products applied by hand are outside it. Agriculture Victoria's page on automatic mutual recognition says it began on July 1, 2021 and lets an individual sole trader licensed in a participating state work in Victoria within the home licence scope. Corporate entities and other business structures must hold a Victorian commercial operator licence.