EPA reviewed nearly 170 spray records across nine council areas
Most farmers and landholders checked in a North-West NSW pesticide compliance campaign were following the rules, but the NSW Environment Protection Authority still issued 19 advisory letters and eight formal warnings for minor breaches of the Pesticides Act.
EPA officers assessed pesticide users in Moree, Narrabri, Walgett, Warren, Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Warrumbungle Shire, Coonabarabran and Gilgandra local government areas. They reviewed nearly 170 spray records from properties that used pesticides, herbicides and insecticides during December 2025.
Julian Thompson, the EPA’s Director of Operations, said the campaign closely examined people using pesticides on their own properties to check if they were preventing off-target impacts such as spray drift.
In NSW, landowners can legally apply pesticides to their own land with ground-based spraying equipment without an EPA licence. However, they still must comply with the law.
Everyone contacted during the campaign had completed the required training, according to Thompson. Most were also applying pesticides in line with the product label.
Record-keeping drove eight warnings
Record-keeping was the main weakness found in the December 2025 review. The eight formal warnings mainly went to people who failed to record the full product name or left out spray areas, dates and weather conditions.
Product labels set legally binding conditions in NSW. Those conditions aim to prevent spray drift and other off-target impacts that can harm the environment and the community.
Meanwhile, the 19 advisory letters and eight warnings related to minor breaches, not major illegal use. Even so, the EPA treated missing records as a compliance risk under the Pesticides Act.
“Keeping up-to-date records isn’t just an administrative task – it’s an important risk management tool that allows the EPA to investigate compliance with the Pesticides Act,” Thompson said.
Since 2017, the EPA has run pesticide compliance campaigns in the Central West and North West of NSW. This latest operation used lessons from those earlier programmes.
After reviewing December 2025 spraying activity across nine LGAs, the EPA found high training rates and broad compliance with label rules. A smaller group of landholders and sprayers still needs to improve its records.
For record-keeping requirements, the EPA directed users to its compulsory record-keeping guidance. That advice explains what users must note so the agency can check compliance and investigate off-target impacts.
