They have various storage and recordkeeping requirements and so it is important that you can readily identify them and know how they are to be handled and processed.
You may know them by certain brand names as Fumitoxin, Supona, Methomyl, Gramoxone to name a few.
What are schedule 7’s and how can I identify them?
The standard for the uniform scheduling of medicines and poisons (commonly known as the poison standard) places certain substances into various schedules that have various labelling, containment, storage, disposal, supply, possession and use requirements based on their public risk level.
Schedule 7 substances are ones that have a high potential for causing harm at low exposures and are labelled with the signal word on the label “Dangerous Poisons”.
There are even what are classified as Restricted Schedule 7’s (1080 & PAPP) that may have stricter conditions imposed.
What things do I need to have in place for schedule 7’s?
There are several factors that need to be addressed if you have schedule 7 substances onsite.
Storage
One of the requirements for a schedule 7 substance is that physical access is restricted to authorised parties (e.g., owner of the retail establishment, an employee of the owner and a person legally permitted to purchase the poison and is under supervision from the other parties listed).
That is, schedule 7’s cannot be placed in public-accessible spaces such as show or sales rooms or drive-thru.
Several of the schedule 7 substances are also on the Federal Chemicals of Security Concern list as they have the potential to be used for illicit or terrorism-based activities.
So extra security or restrictions are placed on their storage such as them being locked up.
For guidance on the retail storage of schedule 6 and schedule 7 chemicals, refer to the TGA publication Understanding storage requirements for schedule 6 and schedule 7 chemicals in retail settings.
Sales and record-keeping
For the sale or supply of a schedule 7 substance, specific details such as name and address of supplier and purchaser, date of order and supply, name of poison (e.g., approved or trade name) and quantity supplied or sold, and details of required purchaser authorisation (if relevant for state/territory) must be collected.
These records must be kept for five years.
The required purchaser authorisation is based on state/territory poison legislation and may require a licence, permit, specified training or simply a record of the use within the APVMA label conditions.
There may also be restrictions on the minimum age of the purchaser or even who can handle and sell the product (e.g., 1080 & PAPP in Victoria).
Regulatory compliance
The authorisation that a site must possess and sell/supply the product may require a licence for that jurisdiction.
The poison regulator for your region may also regularly hold site inspections or contact a site and request records to investigate a reported incident (e.g., illegal native species poisoning).
The other requirement that a retailer has is to report any unauthorised access to schedule 7’s, that is, theft.
This may require the site to be able to readily reconcile stock of schedule 7’s regularly.
All these requirements are in place to preserve public safety.
Overall, training retail staff on how to handle and sell schedule 7 substances will help promote a more empowered workforce and assist in keeping the public safe from harm.
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