What is New Zealand’s Hazardous Substances and New Organisms legislation?
New Zealand’s system is different to most other chemicals regulations. The approach of always focusing on the substance as it is placed on the market is initially confusing, but might be better understood if approached from a transport of dangerous goods perspective. Furthermore, it is important to remember that a substance in New Zealand can either be a single component or a mixture. For industrial use, most unlisted substances are currently placed on the New Zealand market in mixtures only. Therefore it is rare to have to apply for an individual approval. It is different for pesticides and veterinary medicines, as an individual approval is more likely to be required. For this reason Wiebke Sossinka, consultant at knoell, published a short introduction here.