Australia Keeps Paraquat Legal With New Worker Protections

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority announced Tuesday that paraquat and diquat will remain available for agricultural use. The regulator imposed new limits on application rates, banned backpack sprayers, and required enclosed mixing systems and enhanced protective equipment.

Paraquat is applied in grain, sugarcane, cotton, and horticulture operations. The authority said the measures address documented risks to farm workers, birds, and mammals while allowing higher rates only with technology-assisted spot spraying on up to 30 percent of a treated area.

The decision followed a review that began after the chemical was designated for reconsideration in 1994. An interim report appeared in 2024, and the final ruling confirms an earlier draft position. The authority examined hundreds of scientific papers and long-term data but did not establish a causal link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.

The regulator operates under a risk-based system that requires evidence of actual harm rather than applying a precautionary standard. Officials noted that the agency lost expertise after its relocation from Canberra to Armidale in 2013, and the full review took roughly 30 years.

The National Farmers’ Federation president said products must remain safe for people and the environment and noted that Australian agriculture already operates under strict controls. The manufacturer stated that paraquat continues to play a unique role in no-till farming practices that help retain soil moisture and limit erosion.

Parkinson’s Australia said it was disappointed by the outcome and will continue efforts to secure a ban. A Melbourne neurologist told ABC that multiple epidemiological studies have linked paraquat exposure to an approximately threefold increase in Parkinson’s risk and that the regulator had not engaged sufficiently with researchers in the field.