Compliance by state

Victoria splits pest control between two agencies

In Victoria, running a pest control business requires a pest control operator licence from the Department of Health, and every pesticide application must be recorded: the product, batch number, quantity, date, method, location and re-entry period, kept at the business address for at least 3 years. A separate Agriculture Victoria commercial operator licence can also apply, depending on the chemical used.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Official name: Pest control operator licence (Department of Health) and pesticide application record; a separate Agriculture Victoria commercial operator licence can also apply
Regulator: Department of Health, Victoria (pest control licence); Agriculture Victoria (commercial operator licence for agricultural chemicals)
Who issues it: A pest control business licensed under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008; some businesses also need an Agriculture Victoria commercial operator licence
When: Every pesticide application made as part of a pest control business
Deadline: No stated hours-based deadline found in the sources checked; the record must exist and be kept current at the business address
Lodgement: Kept at the business address; not routinely lodged with a central register
Keep records for: Minimum of 3 years, kept at the business address
Penalty: This page could not confirm a specific dollar penalty for a Victorian pest control record keeping breach from the Department of Health pages checked; record keeping is a licence condition under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, and the Department of Health's Pest Control Program can act against the licence for a breach.

Homeowner? If a pest controller treats your Victorian home or business, ask whether they hold a current Department of Health pest control licence, and know that by law they must keep a detailed record of the chemical, rate and weather conditions for at least 3 years.

What the certificate must show

Pesticide trade name, batch number and quantity used
Date, start and finish times, and application method (spray or bait)
Property address, specific location treated, pests treated and re-entry period
Application rate or enough information to determine it from the label
For outdoor jobs: ambient temperature, wind direction and speed, and relevant weather data
Supervising person's name and licence number, business and client contact details, and the operator's signature

Produce it from a ServiceM8 job

In Settings > Forms > Add Form, create a form called Pest treatment record VIC.
Add Text questions for Trade name, Batch number, Quantity and Application method (spray/bait).
Add Date and Time questions for the application, and Text questions for the property location treated, pests treated and re-entry period.
For outdoor jobs, add Number questions for Ambient temperature and Wind speed, and a Text question for Wind direction.
Add a Text question for the licence number and a Signature question for the operator.
Attach the form to a Pest treatment job badge, require it before checkout, and retain completed forms at the business's ServiceM8 account for at least 3 years.

Two regulators, because two Acts overlap

Anyone running a pest control business for domestic or commercial premises in Victoria needs a Pest Control Licence issued by the Department of Health under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. Separately, the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992, administered by Agriculture Victoria, requires a commercial operator licence (COL) for a business or service that involves using a prescribed class of agricultural chemical, unless every application of that chemical is carried out by someone who already holds the Department of Health pest control licence. In practice this means a straightforward domestic and commercial pest control business, using its own PHW Act licensed operators for every job, does not usually need a second Agriculture Victoria licence on top, but a business that also handles broader agricultural chemical work, or engages unlicensed staff to apply chemicals, can trigger the COL requirement separately.

What the treatment record has to include

For every pesticide application, a pest control operator has to record the trade name, batch number and quantity of the pesticide used, the date, start and finish times, and the application method, whether spray or bait. The record also needs the property address and the specific location within the property treated, the pests targeted and the re-entry period, and either the exact application rate or enough information to work it out from the product label. Outdoor applications add ambient temperature, wind direction and speed, and relevant weather conditions, and the record needs the supervising person's name and licence number where one applies, along with business and client contact details and the operator's signature.

Three years, kept at the business address

Records must be kept at the business address for a minimum of 3 years, which lines up with NSW's EPA record period but is shorter than Queensland's 5 year rule under its own pest management regulation. A pest control operator licence holder also has to have current Safety Data Sheets on hand for every chemical they use, so the record keeping duty and the SDS duty sit together as part of the same licence condition, both administered by the Department of Health's Pest Control Program.

Sources

People in the business of pest control for domestic and commercial premises in Victoria require a Pest Control Licence issued by the Department of Health, and licence holders must have current Safety Data Sheets on hand for the chemicals they use. Department of Health, Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
For every pesticide application, a pest control operator must record the pesticide's trade name, batch number and quantity, the date, start and finish times, application method, the property address and specific location treated, the pests treated, the re-entry period, application rate information, and (for outdoor jobs) ambient temperature and wind conditions, plus the supervising person's name and licence number, business and client contact details, and the operator's signature. Department of Health, Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
Pest control application records must be kept at the business address for a minimum of 3 years. Department of Health, Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
The Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992 requires a commercial operator licence (COL) for a business or service involving the use of a prescribed class of agricultural chemical, unless every application of that chemical is carried out by a person who holds a Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 licence to use that pesticide. Agriculture Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.