AICIS industrial chemicals
AICIS registration and industrial chemical introductions
If you import or manufacture inks, coatings, adhesives, lubricants or consumables, you are probably introducing industrial chemicals — and AICIS obligations attach to you as the introducer, not to your overseas supplier.
Who this applies to
The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme has regulated the introduction of industrial chemicals since 1 July 2020, replacing NICNAS. If you import or manufacture industrial chemicals for commercial purposes, you generally must be registered with AICIS before introducing, and renew that registration each year.
The scope catches more businesses than expect it. Inks, coatings, adhesives, lubricants, sealants, cleaning products and a wide range of consumables are industrial chemicals — including when they arrive alongside, or as part of, equipment you already handle as an electrical product. Printer inks supplied with a printer are a common example.
Categorisation drives everything
Each introduction must be categorised, and the category sets the obligation:
- Listed — the chemical is on the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals and introduced within any applicable terms.
- Exempted — lowest-risk introductions, with record-keeping and annual declaration obligations.
- Reported — a pre-introduction report must be submitted before introduction.
- Assessed — an assessment certificate is required before the chemical may be introduced at all.
Category depends on hazard characteristics, introduction volume and likely exposure. Getting it wrong in either direction is expensive: over-categorise and you pay for an assessment you did not need, under-categorise and you have introduced unlawfully.
What we do
- Establish whether what you are introducing is an industrial chemical, and whether you are the introducer
- AICIS registration and annual renewal
- Inventory searches and categorisation of each introduction
- Work with overseas suppliers to obtain the composition and hazard information categorisation requires — usually the hardest part
- Prepare pre-introduction reports, and manage assessment certificate applications where required
- Set up the record-keeping the scheme expects, and prepare the annual declaration
- Flag where separate work health and safety, safety data sheet, GHS labelling or poisons scheduling obligations also apply
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to register with AICIS?
If you import or manufacture industrial chemicals for commercial purposes in Australia, generally yes — registration is required before you introduce, and it is renewed annually. “Industrial chemicals” is broader than most importers expect: inks, coatings, adhesives, lubricants, cleaning products, sealants and many consumables are caught, including where they arrive as a component of a product you already treat as electrical.
What is categorisation, and why does it matter?
Every introduction has to be categorised, and the category determines your obligations. Listed and exempted introductions carry lighter requirements; reported introductions require a pre-introduction report; assessed introductions require an assessment certificate before you can introduce at all. Categorisation depends on the chemical's hazard characteristics, the volume and the likely exposure — not on how the product is marketed.
We buy a finished formulation from overseas. Is it still our problem?
If you are the party bringing it into Australia, yes. The obligation attaches to the introducer. Overseas suppliers frequently cannot or will not disclose full composition, which is the practical difficulty in most AICIS work — and it is solvable, but it needs handling deliberately rather than left until an annual declaration falls due.
How does AICIS relate to safety data sheets and labelling?
They are separate obligations. AICIS governs introduction; workplace hazardous chemical classification, safety data sheets and GHS labelling arise under work health and safety law, and poisons scheduling arises separately again. A compliant AICIS position does not discharge any of them.
Want to learn more?
Speak to a Chartered Professional Engineer about your product, your target market and the approval pathway that actually applies to it.
Talk to an engineer
Importing chemicals alongside your products?
Registration, categorisation and reporting all attach to the introducer. We will tell you what applies before an annual declaration falls due.