NSW Forced Swim Tests Banned; Forced Smoke Tests Banned

Animal Research Amendment (Prohibition of Forced Swim Tests and Forced Smoke Inhalation Experiments) Bill 2024

Private Member's Bill

7 May 2024: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly

Assent

Share this bill

Email Facebook X Bluesky

Topics

animal research animal welfare scientific testing

Introduced by: Alex Greenwich MP (IND); Emma Hurst MLC (AJP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Animal Research Authority can no longer allow forced swim tests or forced smoke inhalation experiments.
Current research permits are exempt from this ban, but the ban will apply as soon as those permits are renewed.

News articles and press releases

Animal Research Amendment (Prohibition of Forced Swim Tests and Forced Smoke Inhalation Experiments) Bill 2023

The Hon. EMMA HURST — 2023-09-20

It amends section 26 of the Animal Research Act 1985 to provide that an animal research authority must not authorise, or purport to authorise, the carrying out of a forced swim test or a forced smoke inhalation experiment. The amendment is consistent with the approach taken for other restricted experiments dealt with in the Animal Research Act, such as LD50 tests and Draize tests. Existing section 26 (3) of the Act states that an animal research authority shall not authorise the carrying out of these experiments except in very limited circumstances. For example, the LD50 test requires approval from both the relevant animal care and ethics committee and the Minister.