If you're reading this, it's probably because your job involves land management and weed control. But are you aware of the significance of compliance - what it involves, and what the consequences of non-compliance are?

When it comes to land management and weed spray/inset management, there's actual government legislation regulating it. According to the New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), records of pesticide use are not just bureaucratic hurdles but crucial tools for incident response, user protection, and assessing pesticide effectiveness. Similarly, Queensland Government legislation, grounded in the Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Act 1966, aims to foster responsible distribution of agricultural chemicals, safeguarding agriculture, livestock, the environment, trade, and human health.

Let's take a closer look at the Australian regulatory landscape and the cost of non-compliance.

What happens if you don't follow the rules?

As we've mentioned, the New South Wales EPA requires records for all commercial pesticide users, from farmers to local councils. Specific record-keeping obligations extend to licensed pesticide users and businesses engaged in aerial pesticide applications. Straying from these regulations can result in fines ranging from $150 to $22,000 for individuals and $300 to $44,000 for corporations, depending on the severity of the offence.

Queensland, with its Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Act of 1966, outlines exhaustive record-keeping requirements for distribution contractors. Particulars include details about the aircraft or commercial operator, the chemical used, its concentration, the treated land's location, wind conditions, application specifics, and more. Failure to adhere to these regulations can lead to fines of up to 20 penalty units, with severe penalties of up to 50 penalty units or even imprisonment for falsifying records.

Even with this brief outline, you can see how non-compliance can be costly, not just in money but in time and inconvenience. All the more reason to make sure you're up to date with governmental compliance and regulations. And we know just how tedious, frustrating and time consuming that can be. But hold on - keep reading. The good news is coming up next.

Ditch the manual process with automated reporting for enhanced compliance

Traditionally, reporting spray operations meant relying on operators to manually record data, a process fraught with uncertainties and potential for errors. The burden on operators to estimate chemical usage, manually enter data into reporting diaries, and the subsequent risk of non-compliance due to inaccuracies are challenges you'll be familiar with. And it was with that in mind that Rapid Logix stepped up with an innovative, ground-breaking solution: the Universal Flow Tracker (UFT).

The UFT, a marvel of software engineering, automates compliant reporting, aligning with environmental protection and biosecurity regulations. Gone are the days of manual data entry and estimations. UFT helps your teams to create organisation-wide weed species maps, providing visibility into spray operations' effectiveness.

Keen to learn more?

Read From chaos to control, a white paper that explores the innovative tech that is Rapid Logix. It's a must-read.