The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is facing a new inquiry.

A parliamentary inquiry has begun looking into the agency amid its controversial shift to the regional city of Armidale.

Parliament's house standing committee on agriculture has started an inquiry into the APVMA’s efforts to adopt recommendations from a previous audit office review, which included measures to improve risk management, governance and performance measures.

The earlier audit found the authority failed to consider the risk that staff would resign over the move to Armidale, and was unprepared to manage the problem.

Staff departures at the APVMA reached nearly 20 per cent in 2015-16, leaving it struggling to find regulatory scientists to replace those who had refused to move.