A NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) compliance campaign across north-west NSW has found most farmers and landholders are complying with the state’s environmental laws, although some pesticide users need to improve their record-keeping.
The EPA assessed pesticide users across the local government areas of Moree, Narrabri, Walgett, Warren, Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Warrumbungle, Coonabarabran and Gilgandra.
The campaign resulted in 19 advisory letters and eight formal warnings being issued to landholders and sprayers for minor breaches of the Pesticides Act.
NSW EPA Director of Operations Julian Thompson said officers reviewed almost 170 spray records from properties where pesticides, herbicides and insecticides had been used during December 2025.
“This was a very precise campaign looking at people who use pesticides on their own properties to determine if they are preventing off-target impacts, such as spray drift,” Thompson said.
“In NSW, landowners can legally apply pesticides to their own land using ground-based spraying equipment without an EPA licence – but they still need to comply with the rules.
“In good news, everyone we contacted had completed the required training, and most people were applying pesticides in accordance with the product label.
“Label conditions should never be ignored – they are legally binding settings that prevent off-target impacts from these chemicals, protecting the environment and the community from harm.
“The formal warnings were primarily issued to people with poor record-keeping practices, such as failing to record the full product name of the chemical used, or missing details about spray areas, dates and weather conditions.
“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.”
The campaign was informed by findings from previous EPA pesticide compliance campaigns conducted across the Central West and North West of NSW since 2017.
Information on compulsory record-keeping requirements is available on the NSW EPA website at: Compulsory record keeping | EPA.
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