David Astridge is an agricultural scientist with more than 36 years of combined experience across research, crop protection, and regulatory assessment. He spent 17.5 years as a Research Scientist with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, working at the highest levels of plant protection at regional, state,, national and international regions in subtropical and tropical tree and vegetable crops. His work focused on developing integrated pest and disease management systems, field trials, and crop safety programs across diverse horticultural and agricultural industries.
 

For the past 19 years, David has served as a Science Panel Consultant to the APVMA, reviewing pesticide efficacy and crop safety research applications submitted for product registration. He has completed over 330 applications (and continues to review new submissions), giving him a deep, real‑time understanding of regulatory expectations, data quality standards, and emerging trends in agricultural chemical evaluation. David’s dual background,  long‑term scientific research combined with active regulatory assessment, provides a unique perspective that few consultants in Australia can match. His work is trusted by law firms, insurers, agricultural chemical companies, local councils, and industry groups seeking independent, defensible, evidence‑based analysis.

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