The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority recently hosted the inaugural Enabling Precision Application of Crop Protection Products (EPAC) Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, bringing together more than 100 delegates from across Australia and overseas

The conference, supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, focused on how regulatory systems can keep pace with rapid advances in precision application technologies.

AUSVEG’s National Agrichemical Manager, David Daniels, attended to ensure the Australian vegetable industry was represented in discussions about the future of spray technology and control-of-use regulation.

Precision application technologies were front and centre, including drones, variable-rate and “see and spray” systems, automated boom sprayers, real-time data capture and drift-reduction tools.

Private sector representatives from global companies such as Corteva, Bayer, Nufarm and John Deere highlighted how rapidly equipment capability and digital integration are advancing. In many cases, technological capability appears to be progressing faster than the regulatory frameworks designed to govern its use and this gap was a central theme of the conference.

International regulators from the United Kingdom, European Union and Canada outlined how they are modernising spray application standards, including harmonising terminology, updating droplet classification systems and incorporating digital compliance tools.

Day two shifted to an interactive roundtable format, where participants examined whether Australia’s current legislation and control-of-use arrangements are sufficiently flexible to accommodate emerging technologies such as drone application and automated systems.

Australia’s regulator, the APVMA, is widely regarded as a rigorous, science-based authority that delivers technically robust and defensible decisions. This credibility underpins community confidence and helps safeguard ongoing access to effective chemistry. However, discussions highlighted a practical challenge. Emerging technologies often lack long-term datasets and validated methodologies. In the absence of definitive data, regulatory settings can default to conservative, worst-case assumptions. For example, drone applications are currently treated in a similar manner to helicopters under Australia’s control-of-use framework, despite the reasonable assumption that their exposure risks may differ.

A recurring theme was the need to break what some described as a “stand-off” between registrants and regulators. Registrants seem reluctant to invest in expensive data generation without clear guidance, while regulators require robust evidence before adjusting settings. Greater early engagement, co-design of data frameworks and clearer pathways for evidence generation were identified as critical steps to unlocking innovation.

What this means for vegetable growers

The take home message was clear. Precision application technologies offer genuine potential to improve efficacy, reduce off-target impacts and strengthen stewardship outcomes. Importantly for vegetable growers, these technologies also present opportunities to improve on-farm efficiency, lift productivity and enhance global competitiveness.

At the same time, regulatory frameworks are still adapting to the pace of change. Maintaining Australia’s strong, science-based regulatory system while enabling innovation will require closer collaboration between regulators, industry and researchers. For the vegetable industry, continued engagement in these discussions will be essential to ensure that future regulatory settings both protect community confidence and enable growers to adopt precision technologies confidently, safely and at scale.