1080 in New South Wales

An overview of 1080 in New South Wales.

Frequently asked questions

  • The species commonly targeted with 1080 poison in New South Wales are dingoes, pigs, foxes and rabbits. Deer and goats can be targeted in national parks and other areas.

    Though these are the target species, many others are at risk when 1080 poison is used. You can learn more about non-target risks and secondary poisoning in the Evidence and Glossary sections of this website.

  • Depending on the target species, a range of bait materials are used in New South Wales.

    Carnivores, like dingoes, cats and foxes, are targeted with meat baits that are often made from kangaroo flesh or offal from abattoirs. Other material used to target carnivores include bird eggs injected with a liquid solution of 1080 poison.

    Herbivores, like rabbits, are targeted with poisoned grain or carrots. As omnivores, pigs are targeted with a range of bait materials. These can include meat or grains. Some of the programs targeting wild pigs in NSW are extensive. For example, the Billabong Creek control program is carried out every year using 1080 baits across 400,000 hectares. The NSW Government estimates that it costs between $15 and $20 to kill one pig with 1080 poison.

  • In many cases, the use of 1080 poison in New South Wales is ongoing. Some programs are scheduled for years in advance.

    In general, baiting foxes with 1080 poison in New South Wales is “continuous and ongoing”. Most of this is undertaken in late autumn and early winter. This is because these times coincide with the mating seasons of dingoes and foxes.

    In specific circumstances, the NSW Government has published recommendations for when 1080 baiting programs targeting foxes should be undertaken. For example, when 1080 poison is used to kill foxes who are thought to prey on beach-nesting shore birds, the NSW Government recommends programs begin at least one month before nesting and that they be undertaken “continuously” until fledgling is complete. When it is undertaken in Alpine areas, the NSW Government recommends baiting be focused in winter when foxes “frequent resorts to take advantage of abundant food sources”.

  • People in New South Wales must be trained in pesticide use and can only obtain 1080 baits from an Authorised Control Officer (‘ACO’). These are people employed by Local Land Services, the Department of Primary Industries, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Wild Dog Destruction Board or another NSW authority.

    Authorised Control Officers provide an indemnity or consent form for every property where 1080 poison is used. They may also carry out risk assessments, particularly if an applicant has not used 1080 before or they are part of a group baiting program.

    The training requirements are set out in the Pesticide Control Orders (‘PCOs’). These require that anyone who engages in 1080 baiting must complete mandatory training every five years.

  • There are a number of general requirements for using 1080 in New South Wales. These are made under Pesticide Control Orders (‘PCO’s) and various laws and regulations.

    The Pesticides Regulation includes details on user training, record keeping and notification requirements for people engaging in 1080 baiting programs. These are described in detail in the Vertebrate Pesticide Manual published by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

  • Pesticide Control Orders or ‘PCOs’ authorise who can use 1080 and set conditions on how and where it can be used. They are made under Section 38 of the Pesticides Act and specify the requirements around the possession and use of poisons, including 1080 poison, for the preparation and supply of baits by Authorised Control Officers (‘ACOs’).

    There are several active PCOs for the use of 1080 in New South Wales. People who do not comply with a PCO face maximum penalties of up to $60,000.

  • Notifying neighbours

    In New South Wales, it is a requirement for neighbours whose property is within 1km of where 1080 poison will be used to be notified. People engaging in 1080 baiting must give neighbours at least 72 hours notice before laying baits.

    If neighbours cannot be contacted or there are more than 25 neighbours who need to be contacted, an advertisement in the local newspaper can be used.

    Warning signs

    People engaging in 1080 baiting must also put up warning signs at the main entrances to private properties, the main entrances to areas in National Parks, every entry point to a baited location, and at intervals along public thoroughfares that border of pass the baiting location.

    The warning signs must include information about the types of baits used, when they will be laid, the contact details of the person who lays them and a warning that other animals may be impacted. The signs must remain for a minimum of one month after the last day 1080 baits were used.

    Have you seen a warning sign in New South Wales? Let us know.

  • Yes. Aerial baiting is frequently undertaken in New South Wales.

    Aerial baiting targeting dingoes was first trialled in New South Wales in 1957. Early trials initially used strychnine but this was replaced with 1080 from the 1970s. Today, using fixed-wing aircraft to deploy baits is permitted in the Western Division. Helicopters must be used in eastern New South Wales. This restriction was implemented following a review of aerial baiting in 1985.

    Today, the NSW Government runs a biannual aerial baiting program targeting dingoes and foxes. It is undertaken by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Local Land Services.

    Aerial baiting is often used in conjunction with ground baiting. The baits used in aerial baiting programs are often prepared by cutting boneless red meat into “fist-sized chunks” approximately 250g in size that are injected with a concentrated liquid solution of 1080 poison.

    Aerial baiting can be undertaken on land managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service if farmed animals are “being lost or likely to be lost” or if native wildlife is “being impacted or is likely to be impacted” due to predation by dingoes or foxes. For aerial baiting to be approved, ground-baiting must be “impractical” and aerial baiting must either be “economically beneficial” or part of a coordinated program.

    Despite these requirements, areas of New South Wales can be extensively baited in response to perceived threats. In the aftermath of the Black Summer bushfires, the NSW Government announced a plan to drop one million 1080 baits in bushfire-impacted areas. Though this program was denounced by 24 eminent scientists, such operations continued until 2021.

    In 2019, 43,442 baits were dropped over nearly 8 million hectares in the Western Division of drought-stricken New South Wales alone. These baits were in addition to 115,162 ground-laid baits used in the same region.

    Historical reviews of aerial baiting have demonstrated strong evidence that the dangers of this technique have been “greatly underestimated” and that it has “left a catastrophic legacy”. In response to the post-bushfire baiting operation, the Coalition launched a petition demanding an immediate moratorium on 1080 baiting. You can join over 19,000 Australians who have signed today.

  • No.

    Dingoes are referred to as “wild dogs” in New South Wales and, because they allegedly prey on farmed animals, they are not protected. The NSW Government acknowledges that dingoes are the only native mammal not protected in New South Wales.

  • Baits and poisoned carcasses that are not recovered after the end of a 1080 baiting operation pose threats to dogs, birds and other native wildlife for some time afterwards.

    Despite the known threat of secondary and non-target poisoning, collecting untaken baits and toxic carcasses is not a legal requirement in New South Wales. Instead, this is only recommended “where practical” or “as far as possible”.

    Pesticide Control (1080 Bait Products) Order 2020 states that must only “make a reasonable effort” to collect and remove untaken baits. It also states that people who use 1080 baits “should recover carcasses” and bury them “to the extent possible”.

  • If you suspect a pet died from 1080 poisoning in New South Wales, visit our step-by-step guide.

    If you need support, please contact us.

  • The relevant contact details are provided below.

    Simply click the email link to send an email opposing the use of 1080 today.

Laws, regulations and other instruments

    • Agricultural and Veterinary Code Act 1994 (NSW) applies Commonwealth laws relating to agricultural and veterinary chemical products as laws of New South Wales. It recognises that “the protection of the health and safety of human beings, animals and the environment is essential to the well-being of society”. The Act formalises a system that regulates agricultural chemical products and veterinary chemical products in New South Wales. It also recognises the principle of ecologically sustainable development and that it requires “a regulatory system that is designed to ensure that the use of such products today will not impair the prospects of future generations”. The Act also acknowledges that “it is desirable to establish a regulatory system that is open and accountable and gives opportunity for public input with respect to the regulation of such products”.

    • Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations 1995 (Cth) declares products that contain 1080 poison to be a “restricted chemical product”.

    • Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW) introduced a ‘general biosecurity duty’. This means that any person who deals with ‘biosecurity matter’ is obliged to take measures or actions that manage or mitigate the risk. ‘Biosecurity matter’ can include species targeted with 1080 poison, including dingoes. The Act introduced many new terms in addition to ‘biosecurity duty’. Some of these terms have been criticised as being “prone to ambiguity”. This is demonstrated by the case of Brighton v Will, in which the terms used in the Act were applied by the NSW Supreme Court in a manner that undermines the provision of state animal protection legislation. Note: the NSW Government is currently reviewing this Act.

    • Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW) contains provisions intended to protect animals and plants, including offences for harming threatened animals. Under Division 5, key threatening processes (‘KTPs’) can be created specific to processes that the Scientific Committee believe adversely impact threatened species or ecological communities, or could cause species or ecological communities not currently threatened to become threatened. Currently listed KTPs under Schedule 4 of the Act include “competition and grazing by rabbits” and “predation and hybridisation by ‘wild dogs’”. Several attempts to include 1080 baiting as a KTP have been unsuccessfully lodged in the past.

    • Local Land Services Act 2013 (NSW) formalised the establishment of Local Land Services, which became operational in 2014. Under Section 100, Local Land Services are not liable to pay any damages caused by the use of pesticides. The “control” of dingoes on all lands in NSW is mandated under this Act.

    • National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW) is intended to conserve the natural and cultural heritage of New South Wales. It establishes the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and contains a number of management principles in Division 2.

    • Pesticides Act 1999 (NSW) is intended to promote the protection of human health, environment, property and trade in relation to the use of pesticides. The Act provides for the creation of Pesticide Control Orders or ‘PCOs’. Currently, there are two PCOs relating to the use of 1080 poison and three other PCOs for research being done with 1080 poison in NSW. Section 4 of the Act provides that a ‘restricted pesticide’ has the same meaning as under the Commonwealth AgVet Code. This means that “a person must not, without reasonable excuse, supply a restricted chemical product, or cause or permit a restricted chemical product to be supplied, to a person who is not authorised to use the product under another law of this jurisdiction”. Section 17 of the Act provides that a person must not use or possess a restricted pesticide unless they are authorised to do so, either by a certificate of competency or under the conditions of a PCO.

    • Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 (NSW) regulates, controls and prohibits the supply and use of poisons, restricted substances and other products. The Act provides a range of exemptions to its provisions, including those made by the Minister to exempt a council or the Local Land Services from any and all provisions. However, this is only applicable to poisons or substances that are not restricted. Under the Schedules of the Act, 1080 is identified as a Schedule 7 poison.

    • Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW) is the principal animal welfare legislation in New South Wales. Section 15 of the Act prohibits the poisoning of animals. It also prohibits possessing a poison with the intention to use it to kill or injure a domestic animal. Despite these prohibitions, the Act also contains a range of defences to offences. Under Section 24, a person may not be guilty if that person satisfies the court that the act or omission they are responsible for was carried out “in a manner that inflicted no unnecessary pain”. Note: the NSW Government is currently reviewing this Act.

    • Pesticides Regulation 2017 provides for the licensing, record keeping, training and notification requirements of ‘pest’ animal management activities in New South Wales. It was first gazetted in September 2017 and minor amendments were made in November 2021. Under the Regulations, those engaged in control activities must hold a licence. There are a number of exemptions, including those granted by the Environment Protection Authority (‘EPA’). Under the Regulations, all people who use pesticides must complete mandatory training.