Importing Industrial Chemicals

A Guide to the  Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS)

Many chemicals, both hazardous and non-hazardous by nature, are required to be registered before they are allowed entry into many jurisdictions. Australia is no exception to this. The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) is an essential regulatory framework designed to govern the importation and manufacture of industrial chemicals.

AICIS has replaced the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS)—the previous regulatory system in Australia—from 1 September 2022 after a two-year transition period. New introductions for industrial chemicals need to be authorised under the AICIS framework.

Importing Industrial Chemicals from a Non-Australian Based Supplier

Step 1 - Determine if the chemical is an industrial chemical

Rather than defining industrial chemicals by what they are, AICIS defines them by what they aren’t. Industrial chemicals are anything which is not otherwise used for the following:

  • Agriculture
  • Veterinary use
  • Therapeutic goods
  • Food for humans or animals
  • Substances or mixtures prepared by a pharmacist or veterinary surgeon

Introducers are required to register the chemical with the government and provide detailed information about the chemical’s properties, risks, and potential uses. Chemicals may have multiple uses, so it’s important to follow the regulations applicable to each use of your product. The information provided by an introduction is used to assess the risks posed by the chemical so that the government can place conditions on the chemical’s importation and use.

If a chemical has no industrial use, it is not regulated by AICIS.

Step 2 - Ensure and review controls

AICIS uses the term “introduction” to cover importing or manufacturing (using) industrial chemicals and their safe use.

Each industrial chemical being imported needs to be checked. This is to determine the introduction category and associated record keeping requirements.

UNE is already registered with AICIS, so we are authorised to import chemicals in a broad sense. There are, however, specific requirements depending on the introduction category of the chemical as to what you need to do.

Most chemicals at UNE are only being used for R&D and fulfil the simplified criteria in this section:

Categorisation of chemicals introduced for research and development | Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS)

Please advise WHS at whs@une.edu.au if this is NOT the case.

Note the importance related to controls noted in this section. This applies to all the chemicals being introduced.

Step 3 - Determine the category of introduction
  1. Check if any chemicals you wish to introduce are in the Industrial Chemicals Inventory. Search by individual chemical name or CAS number. If found, the chemical is a “listed” introduction. There are no associated conditions in the listing to abide by. All you need to do here is keep records as per step 4 below.
  1. For chemicals not found in the Industrial Chemicals Inventory:
    1. Determine if the other chemicals are in either the “reported” or “exempted” category
      1. Introductions that are categorised as exempted | Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS)
      2. Introductions that are categorised as reported | Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS)
    2. Follow the content above based on your use for each of the chemicals. The following criteria are needed to determine the category:
      1. How much is imported in the registration calendar year (01 Sept - 31 Aug)
      2. Chemical usage
      3. GHS classification etc.
  2. You must abide by all the conditions associated with the corresponding introduction category for each chemical.
Step 4 - Determine what records you must keep

Record keeping is required for all introduction categories. Reporting and record-keeping obligations | Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS). There are slight differences for each category: