Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health

Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health (OCSEH)

The Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health (OCSEH), part of the Office of Health Protection within the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, is responsible for human health risk assessment policy and practice for veterinary medicines, pesticides and other environmental chemicals.

Our Vision

Safe and sustainable chemical use for all Australians.

Our Mission

To protect and secure human health and the environment through the delivery of evidence based, nationally consistent approaches to managing human health risks and environmental threats, and a rigorous and efficient chemicals regulatory system. The OCSEH will support national environmental health initiatives and safe and sustainable chemical use that will result in positive public health outcomes for all Australians.

Our Values

The Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health is committed to:
Quality Service Responsiveness Credibility Integrity Science

About the OCSEH

The Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health forms part of the Office of Health Protection, within the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The OCSEH contributes to whole of government approaches to strengthen environmental health, safety and security for all Australians.

The OCSEH monitors developments, provides policy advice and administers programs to address threats to human health posed by environmental factors, with a focus on prevention. This is achieved by working with State and Territory governments to implement the National Environmental Health Strategy 2007-2012, approved by the Australian Health Protection Committee.

The OCSEH provides health advice to government stakeholders on environmental risks to human health, including those associated with contaminated land, air, water, and associated with climate change.

The OCSEH is responsible for human health risk assessment policy and practice for agricultural and veterinary chemicals and other domestic and environmental chemicals, with the aim of ensuring chemical use within the Australian community is safe and sustainable.

The OCSEH provides advice on potential human health risks posed by chemicals used in the community, and establishes protective health-based standards for safe chemical use.

The OCSEH conducts risk assessments for agricultural and veterinary (Ag/Vet) chemicals for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), as part of the APVMA’s registration and review processes for these chemicals.

The OCSEH also determines and maintains human health standards for chemicals, including the scheduling of drugs and poisons, and first aid instructions and safety directions for chemicals.

The OCSEH regulates the import and export of prohibited and controlled substances and undertakes national monitoring of these substances as part of the Australian Government’s National Drug Strategy.

The OCSEH leads chemical policy advice for the Department on matters relating to national and international chemicals negotiations, harmonisation issues and chemicals treaties (including the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions).

In addition, the OCSEH provides technical expertise and advice as part of Australia’s counter-terrorism initiative.

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Executive and Organisational Structure

The head of the OCSEH is Sandra Gebbie (A/g).

OCSEH Sections

Fee for Service Unit

The Fee for Service Unit handles the OCSEH’s financial matters, including financial reporting and the provision of financial input as part of the OCSEH business planning process. The unit also provides financial management advice, including in relation to compliance matters.

Environmental Health

The Environmental Health section has as its mission “to support national environmental health initiatives that will result in improved public health outcomes for Australians”. The six objectives of the Environmental Health section can be summarised as follows:

• To contribute to national environmental health policy development, including representing the Department on national working groups, inter-departmental committees and the like, and providing environmental health advice to other Commonwealth departments and agencies.
• To support implementation of the National Environmental Health Strategy 2007-2012 and associated enHealth workplans, including supporting specific actions outlined in the Environmental Health Committee Annual Workplan 2008-09.
• To support the implementation of other environmental health projects and policy development activities initiated through the Australian Health Protection Committee (AHPC) and/or its subcommittees that align with the Commonwealth’s environmental health priorities, including providing funding for key activities.
• To provide support for environmental health initiatives in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in collaboration with the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Indigenous Coordination Centres, including providing funding for specific agreements, such as the Bila Muuji Dog Control Program.
• To maintain high standards of public administration and contribute to corporate activities, including undertaking routine parliamentary services and administrative tasks and participating in, and supporting, a range of corporate activities.
• To support enHealth’s contribution to national environmental health policy development, including undertaking a range of policy advice and project support activities as directed by the Chair of enHealth.

Treaties and Compliance

National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) Secretariat

The OCSEH provides the Secretariat for the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC). The Secretariat provides technical and administrative support to the NDPSC, and maintains the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons (SUSDP).

National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC)

The NDPSC determines the appropriate classification or schedule of a substance for inclusion in the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons (SUSDP). Substances which are subject to consideration for scheduling include human medicines, agricultural and veterinary (Ag/Vet) chemicals, and household chemicals. Scheduling is designed to prevent or minimise the potential for harm to the community from exposure to drugs and poisons by regulating the supply of and access to these substances.

Although each Australian state and territory has its own legislation governing certain matters relating to medicines and chemicals (such as where consumers may purchase a particular medicine or chemical, or how a particular medicine or chemical product is to be packaged and labelled), the vast majority of medicines and chemicals are classified by state and territory governments in accordance with the SUSDP. This means that a uniform national approach to the scheduling of substances and to labelling and packaging requirements can be achieved.

Drugs and poisons are classified according to the Schedules in which they are included. A number of factors are considered in the scheduling of substances, including:

• potential for abuse;
• safety in use;
• legitimate need for the substance; and
• the extent and patterns of use of the substance.

The scheduling framework is contained in the Interim Guidelines for the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee, available from the TGA’s website at http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/ndpscg.htm
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The NDPSC has developed a scheduling/rescheduling template which is designed to facilitate the move to an electronic submission process. Applicants making scheduling/rescheduling submissions are encouraged to use the template (located at http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/schedule-template.htm). Use of this template will ensure that submissions are in an acceptable format and will help avoid delays in the NDPSC’s consideration of applications.

The NDPSC operates under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (and amendments) and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990.

Further information regarding the NDPSC is available from the TGA’s website at http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/index.htm.

Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons (SUSDP)

The Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons (SUSDP) contains the decisions of the NDPSC regarding the classification of drugs and poisons for inclusion in relevant state and territory legislation. It also includes model provisions about containers and labels, a list of products for which exemptions from those provisions is recommended, and recommendations about other controls on drugs and poisons.

The SUSDP is presented with the aim of promoting uniformity in the scheduling of substances and in labelling and packaging requirements throughout Australia.

Further information regarding the SUSDP is available from the TGA’s website at http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/susdp.htm. In addition, the SUSDP can be viewed online or downloaded from the ComLaw website’s Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Agricultural and Veterinary (Ag/Vet) Chemical Registration

The Agricultural and Veterinary (Ag/Vet) Chemical Registration section conducts human health risk assessment on new Ag/Vet chemicals for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).

The section examines and analyses available information in order to understand the possible dangers a product may pose to its users and to the broader community. Based upon the outcomes of the risk assessment, the section then makes recommendations to ensure the safe use of the product, such as recommendations relating to safety directions and personal protective equipment.

Each year the section conducts approximately 150 human health risk assessments on chemicals as part of the APVMA registration process.

The section establishes appropriate public health standards for pesticides and veterinary medicines and maintains and publish relevant documentation including Acceptable Daily Intake List (ADI) List and Acute Reference Doses (ARfD) List; and also establishes first-aid instructions and safety directions (FAISD) that communicate the risks of pesticides and veterinary medicines' product labels.

In addition, the section provides the APVMA with advice on adverse experiences with Ag/Vet products, and on international negotiations which are of relevance to these chemicals.

Agricultural and Veterinary (Ag/Vet) Chemical Review

The Review section conducts human health risk assessments on existing agricultural and veterinary chemicals for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) as part of the APVMA’s Chemical Review Program.

Reviews of existing chemical actives and products are carried out when new safety issues arise. For example, new information or research may raise concerns about the safety of a chemical to workers or the general public.
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The Review section makes recommendations for health values, such as the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of a chemical, as well as safety directions for products. It also provides advice to the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) on scheduling of chemicals from a safety perspective.

National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC)

The OCSEH provides the Secretariat for the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC). The main purpose of this Committee is to provide expert advice to the jurisdictions (states and territories) on the scheduling of medicines and poisons and to promote uniformity of those schedules. Scheduling decisions are included in the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons (SUSDP). States and territories give effect to the SUSDP through their drugs, poisons and controlled substances legislation.

Members of the NDPSC are appointed by the Minister for Health and Ageing, and it is chaired by the TGA’s Principal Medical Advisor, currently Dr Rohan Hammett.

Further detail on the work of the NDPSC is provided under National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) Secretariat.

Advisory Group on Chemical Safety (AGCS)

The Advisory Group on Chemical Safety (AGCS) consists of independent experts in the fields of toxicology, public or occupational health, and chemical risk assessment who provide expert advice to the Senior Principal Research Scientist of the OCSEH on human health (public and occupational) matters relating to the safety and use of agricultural, veterinary, industrial, domestic and cosmetic chemicals. The AGCS is chaired by the Senior Principal Research Scientist of the OCSEH.

Chemicals Clearing House (CCH)

The Clearing House of Commonwealth Agencies for Chemical Safety, established in 1996, provides a forum for information exchange and the coordination of policy advice and whole of government views on international chemical management policies.

Membership of the CCH encompasses all interested Commonwealth agencies and its terms of reference are sufficiently broad to enable a wide consultative and overarching approach relevant issues. The CCH is comprised of representatives from:

• the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA);
• the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA);
• the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA);
• the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF);
• the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR);
• the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT);
• the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR);
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ);
• The Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and Local Government (DITRDLG);
• the Australian Government Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (DRET); and
• the Attorney General’s Department.

The Department of Health and Ageing currently chairs and provides the secretariat for the CCH, the terms of reference of which are to:

• gather, coordinate, and disseminate information and intelligence on chemicals issues relevant to policy formulation and management strategies;
• advise the Inter-Departmental Committee on Chemicals Treaties (IDCCT) of any emerging chemicals issues which may impact on the Commonwealth position on international treaties and treaty level agreements;
• facilitate and develop a whole-of-government approach to non-treaty level international chemicals issues, particularly briefing for international meetings, and report to Ministers and/or Cabinet as appropriate;
• consult as appropriate, through agreed mechanisms, with states and territories, Australian industry and community groups on non-treaty level international chemicals issues.

OCS contact details

Postal address
OCS Canberra Office – GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601
Fax: 02 6289 2650