The AICIS define industrial use by exclusion. This means that an industrial use is any use that isn’t:

• an agricultural chemical product – as defined by the AgVet Code
• a veterinary chemical product – as defined by the AgVet Code
• use as a substance or mixture of substances prepared by a pharmacist or veterinary surgeon, or in the preparation of these – as defined by paragraph 5(4)(a) of the AgVet Code
• a therapeutic good – as defined by the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 or 
• use as food for humans or animals, or in the preparation of it.

An important note about use is that a chemical can have multiple types of uses. For each use your chemical has, you need to follow the regulations for each responsible regulator. 

This is a declaration you make about the industrial chemicals you imported or manufactured during the previous registration year. It’s an opportunity to confirm that your introductions were authorised under our laws.

Who must submit an annual declaration

The registered importer or manufacturer who introduced the chemicals during the previous registration year must submit the annual declaration.

What information do I submit?

Your annual declaration will include:

• the introduction categories for the chemicals you imported or manufactured during our registration year
• a declaration that all of your introductions were authorised under sections 25 to 30 of the Commonwealth’s Industrial Chemicals Act 2019.

Note: Your first annual declaration is due by 30 November 2021 and covers the period from 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2021.

This refers to the AICIS registration of a business that imports industrial chemicals into Australia or locally manufactures industrial chemicals (referred to as an ‘introducer’). You register by completing an online form and paying a fee.

You register your business, not your products or chemicals.

You must register your business with AICIS before you import or manufacture (‘introduce’) industrial chemicals for any of the following:
• Import industrial chemicals, or products that release industrial chemicals into Australia
• Import finished and packaged products that release industrial chemicals – for example, labelled cosmetic products (soap, shampoo, lotion), paint, glues, engine oil and pens
• Import industrial chemicals and reformulate in Australia
• Manufacture industrial chemicals in Australia

The Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals (Inventory) is a database of chemicals available for industrial use in Australia and it has a legal purpose. It contains chemical identity details (for example, the chemical name and molecular formula) and regulatory obligations or conditions relating to the importation and manufacture of chemicals in Australia.

Who must use the Inventory?

If you’re planning to import or manufacture (introduce) an industrial chemical, or a product that releases industrial chemicals, you must register your business with us and search the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals (Inventory) through our website.

What do you need to know before you search the Inventory?

You must search for each industrial chemical ingredient separately if you are introducing a product that has more than 1 industrial chemical. If you find your chemical is listed, you need to check if we’ve added any specific regulatory obligations or restrictions on the chemical.

What you must submit

You’ll need to submit an annual declaration at the end of each AICIS registration year – some time between August and 30 November.

Why you must keep records

You must keep certain records about your chemical introductions to confirm they are authorised. You must keep these records for 5 years, even after you’ve stopped introducing your chemical.

There are different requirements for registration, depending on:

• where the ingredients are sourced
• how the product is made

It’s important to know that many cosmetic ingredients sourced from overseas are described as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ – such as oils, extracts and plant essences – but they may be regulated as industrial chemicals.

And many products composed of natural or organic ingredients – such as polyurethanes and essential oils – are made using a process that involves a chemical reaction.

You must register with AICIS if you make products to sell using industrial chemicals that you’ve bought from an overseas supplier.

You do not need to register with AICIS if you make products to sell using 100% locally sourced ingredients – as long as the manufacturing process does not produce a chemical reaction or create more industrial chemicals as a result.

You register your business with us, not your products or ingredients.

What is blending

Blending is commonly described as the process of mixing two or more chemicals together without producing a chemical reaction or creating more industrial chemicals as a result. Many consumer and cosmetic products containing industrial chemicals are mixtures formed by blending.

You don’t need to be registered with AICIS to blend industrial chemicals, as long as the ingredients are purchased from an Australian supplier.

If a chemical reaction does occur and more industrial chemicals are created as a result, it’s defined as manufacturing. You must register with AICIS to manufacture industrial chemicals.

And if you import industrial chemicals or products that release industrial chemicals from overseas for commercial blending in Australia, then you must register with us.

Consumer and cosmetic products that are mixtures of industrial chemicals still need to comply with other Australian legal requirements for labelling and consumer safety.

What is manufacturing

If you mix industrial chemicals (or products containing chemicals) together and it results in a chemical reaction that produces more industrial chemicals, then this is defined as manufacturing under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019. If your manufacturing is for a commercial purpose, then you must register with us.

Examples of manufacturing chemicals

• Making soap via saponification of fats or oils using lye (sodium hydroxide)
• Creating essential oils using steam distillation or solvent extraction
• Macrylic polymers (commonly used in nail polish, paints and adhesives) through the process of polymerisation