Who must register + categorise industrial chemicals (Industrial Chemicals Act 2019)?

Importers + manufacturers of industrial chemicals must register with AICIS + categorise introductions.

Under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (Cth), a business that imports or manufactures ('introduces') industrial chemicals for commercial purposes, including finished products that contain them such as cosmetics, soap and cleaning products, must register with the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) at the correct registration level. Every introduction must be categorised before it happens: listed (on the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals), exempted (very low risk), reported (low risk), assessed (medium to high risk), commercial evaluation, or exceptional circumstances. Reported introductions need a pre-introduction report, and assessed or commercial evaluation introductions need an assessment certificate or authorisation first. Each year, every registered introducer must lodge an annual declaration confirming its introductions were authorised under ss 25 to 30 of the Act, and keep category-specific records.

Applies only if you import or manufacture industrial chemicals. Whether it applies turns on a fact that no industry, structure or size settles on its own.

How the regulator frames it: Every importer or manufacturer of industrial chemicals for commercial purposes, including small businesses making and selling soap, importers of cosmetics for sale and businesses introducing small quantities. An agent or consultant cannot lodge the annual declaration on the business's behalf.

What triggers it: Importing or manufacturing an industrial chemical, or a product containing one, for commercial purposes. The registration level, and the fee and charge, is set by the value of industrial chemicals introduced in the previous financial year, not by sales or profit.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (1 of 35: only if a further fact applies; 34 of 35: no).

Structure does not change the answer in manufacturing: for every structure the answer is "only if a further fact applies".

Size does not change the answer in manufacturing: at every size band the answer is "only if a further fact applies".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires a trigger outside this questionnaire.
• Pty Ltd company in manufacturing with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: check whether it applies. applies only if you import or manufacture industrial chemicals.

The engine shows this obligation as "check whether this applies" when a business has industry: Manufacturing. It then applies only if you import or manufacture industrial chemicals. That fact is not something Rules Mate can infer from industry, structure or size.

When due

Register before introducing. Categorise each introduction before it occurs and lodge any pre-introduction report or assessment application first. The AICIS registration year runs 1 September to 31 August; the annual declaration for that year, and any once-off exempted introduction declaration, is due by 30 November.

Frequency

Annual

Evidence to keep

AICIS registration at the correct level; categorisation records for every chemical and product; pre-introduction reports and assessment certificates where required; annual declaration lodgement; commercial records of the value of chemicals introduced (invoices, purchase orders, receipts, import declarations), kept for 5 years after the end of the registration year and produced within 20 working days if AICIS asks.

Status

Current

Priority

High

Maximum penalty: Introducing an industrial chemical while unregistered for the registration year (s 13) or where the introduction is not authorised under ss 25 to 30 (s 24) is a fault-based offence and a civil penalty provision, each carrying 500 penalty units ($182,000), with a strict liability offence of 60 penalty units ($21,840). Failing to make the annual declaration (s 99) or to keep the information needed to demonstrate categorisation (s 102) carries up to 300 penalty units ($109,200). AICIS can also use infringement notices, enforceable undertakings and injunctions (Part 7)

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

If this obligation applies to you, so does this one: the engine uses the same rule for each.

• Stockholm + Rotterdam Convention chemicals (POPs ban)

Rules Mate tracks 2 published obligations tagged "chemicals", 1 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated high priority and carries criminal liability, and is a annual obligation.

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• Compliance calendar builder