Information you need to work out your introduction category
Before you dive into the details of how to work out the category of your chemical introduction, we want to give you an idea of the information you'll need to do this.
Check out our glossary for the definition of terms that are used in this guide.
Getting started
On this page you can read about:
- Information you must know
- Information you might need - if your introduction is not in the listed category
- Information it might be useful to have - if your introduction is not in the listed category
If you don't have some of this information you may need to contact your supplier for it, or you might need to ask them to help you with categorisation.
We refer to categorisation steps on this page. These are steps you need to follow to work out what category your introduction can be authorised under: exempted, reported or assessed.
You must have permission to use information that you relied on to demonstrate the absence of hazard characteristics. If we ask you for the information that you relied on to categorise your introduction, you need to provide us with the detailed information, including full study reports, of the kind specified in the Categorisation Guidelines to demonstrate the absence of the hazard characteristics.
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Information you must know about your chemical's identity
Chemical identity - do you have the proper name of your chemical?
You must know this. If you don’t, you must have a relationship with someone who does know it and can provide it to you or directly to us. Usually, it will be your supplier.
Related information on this topic
Record keeping - outlines requirements for suppliers to be able to provide information to us, such as the proper name of the chemical.
Confidential business information - we have measures to protect a supplier's CBI. For example, your supplier can add chemical identity information into a pre-introduction report (these are required for reported introductions). We will see this information, not you.
Information you must know about your chemical's Inventory status
Is your chemical on the Inventory? You must check this.
The Inventory is our chemical database of chemicals available for industrial use in Australia. If you don’t know your chemical's identity, you might need to ask your supplier to check the Inventory for you and to let you know if the chemical is there or not.
If you are searching the Inventory yourself, you need to understand what your search results mean. You also need to understand what to do next if you can't find the chemical. Sometimes, a chemical is listed on the Inventory but won't come up in search results because of CBI. We can help in this regard by confirming whether the chemical is listed or not.
Related information
What your Inventory search results will show — explanations of listing terms and steps to follow.
I can't find my chemical on the Inventory — the reasons you might be having trouble getting a search result on the Inventory and steps to follow.
If the chemical is on the Inventory
Does your introduction comply with any terms or conditions in the Inventory listing? This includes any requirements to provide AICIS with specific information about your introduction.
This page explains Inventory listing terms and your regulatory obligations
If you don’t know the chemical identity of the chemical you are introducing, you’ll need to ask your supplier to help you confirm that your introduction meets the terms or conditions of the Inventory listing. We suggest that your supplier tell you what the terms or conditions of the Inventory listing of your chemical are, so that you can ensure that your introduction of the chemical meets these.