2 July 2026
What this means for the wine industry
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) outlined its final regulatory decision on the future use of paraquat and diquat herbicides in a Special Gazette published 23 June 2026.
Significant changes from this review that apply to the wine industry are listed below –
Products containing paraquat as the active ingredient – use is ‘NOT SUPPORTED’ in vineyards. For detail, refer to Paraquat Final Review Technical Report (June 2026) Appendix A Table 52.
Products containing paraquat and diquat as the active ingredients – use is ‘NOT SUPPORTED’ in vineyards. For detail refer to Paraquat Final Review Technical Report (June 2026) Appendix A Table 53.
Products containing diquat as the active ingredient – use is ‘NOT SUPPORTED’ in vineyards. For detail refer to Diquat Final Review Technical Report (June 2026) Appendix A Table 40.
What this means for you –
- There is a two-year phase-out period for products containing labels approved prior to 23 June 2026. Existing stocks carrying these labels can continue to be purchased and used on vineyards until 22 June 2028.
- Manufacture of chemical products bearing labels approved prior to 23 June 2026 is no longer authorised.
- New product labels will no longer list vineyards as an approved use. Therefore, these products are not registered for use on winegrape vineyards. The new product labels are denoted by the addition of “RV2026” (revised in 2026) alongside the APVMA Approval Number.
- Assess your chemical stocks for products containing paraquat and diquat alone or in combination with affixed labels approved prior to 23 June 2026. These stocks must be used up or disposed before 22 June 2028.
Contact
AWRI helpdesk phone: 08 8313 6600 (option 1)
Email: helpdesk@awri.com.au
Acknowledgements
This work is funded by Wine Australia, with levies from Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers and matching funds from the Australian Government. AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, SA.
