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Industrial chemicals law in Australia

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The Act

The Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (IC Act) is the legal framework for the regulation of the importation and manufacture (introduction) of industrial chemicals in Australia. It establishes the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) and its Executive Director.

General Rules

The Industrial Chemicals (General) Rules 2019 (General Rules) form part of the legislative framework and contain the technical and operational details of AICIS under the functions of the Executive Director. The General Rules are amended from time to time.

Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines

The Executive Director of AICIS issues the Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines. This is a technical document which set out the formal details and requirements for categorising chemical introductions in Australia. You must read the Guidelines in conjunction with the General Rules. The Guidelines are amended from time to time.

Current guidelines

Use our online help guide to categorise your introduction

We have created a practical, step-by-step, Categorisation Guide to help you complete the categorisation process for a chemical introduction or manufacture.

Icon of boxes sorted into categories

This online help guide is separate from the Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines, but covers key information from it along with the IC Act and General Rules. Explained in plain language, it walks you through what you need to check and the order of steps you need to do it in.

You can also try using our self-guided categorisation decision tools as an interactive format that steps you through the process.

Read our online Categorisation Guide

Previous versions of the guidelines

Transitional Act and Rules

The Transitional Act and Transitional Rules cover matters related to the changeover from NICNAS to AICIS which took effect on 1 July 2020:

Legislation for fees and charges

These Acts, regulations and rules authorise the imposition of charges on importers and manufacturers of industrial chemicals:

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