In Aotearoa New Zealand, hazardous substances need to be approved under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act) before they can be imported, manufactured, supplied or used.

The role of the EPA’s Hazardous Substances team is to receive and assess applications for the import or manufacture of new hazardous substances, and to set the rules to manage their risks where approval has been granted.

The Hazardous Substances Models Modernisation project is to deliver to the EPA modern, fit for purpose models and supporting data, to usefully strengthen our risk assessment processes. To be fully fit for purpose the EPA requires updates to a range of ecotoxicology, toxicology, and environmental fate models, data requirements, and environmental assessment factors.

The project outputs must be aligned with international best practices and account for the use and impact of hazardous substances specific to New Zealand conditions.

We are seeking a comprehensive update of our toxicology, ecotoxicology and environmental fate models that we use as part of risk assessments of hazardous substances. We are also seeking to obtain a range of data to support modelling that account for New Zealand-specific conditions.

We will be ideally seeking a single supplier that can deliver the complete scope of the project, utilising subcontracting arrangements where necessary to deliver the complete range of services. We are seeking confirmation that this delivery approach is feasible and whether you would be interested in submitting a formal proposal during the subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP) phase.

This Request for Information (RFI) is for information only and will not be used to select any suppliers. It will be used to gather market intelligence to inform business planning and the design of our future programme. We appreciate any insights you can share with us to assist us with this important mahi.