Labelling Hazardous Substance and Dangerous Goods
Occupational health and safety laws place obligations on chemical manufacturers and suppliers to label containers of hazardous substances and dangerous goods in workplaces.
What is a label?
A label can be described as an appropriate group of written, printed or graphic information elements concerning a hazardous chemical that is affixed to, printed on, or attached to the container.
For workplace chemicals, labels include information on the hazards, plus instructions and information on the safe storage, handling, use and disposal of the chemical.
The label and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are important sources of information that may be used to inform hazard and risk assessments, and establish appropriate work practices to control risks associated with chemical use in the workplace.
Requirements for preparing a label
Workplace chemicals are currently regulated under two different systems depending on whether they are:
- hazardous substances (i.e. substances presenting health hazards, such as eye irritants or carcinogens) or
- dangerous goods (substances which present physical hazards such as oxidising properties or flammability, or are acutely toxic.
The key obligations for labelling of workplace chemicals are contained in State and Territory regulations that give effect to the National Model Regulations for the Control of Workplace Hazardous Substances and the National Standard for the Storage and Handling of Workplace Dangerous Goods, and the relevant supporting Codes of Practice.
Note: These documents have no legal standing on their own until other legislation or regulations give effect to them. State and Territory regulations should always be consulted to determine your legal obligations.
Hazardous substances labelling requirements
Requirements and guidance for labelling of hazardous substances are described in the National Code of Practice for the Labelling of Workplace Substances.
View the National Code of Practice for the Labelling of Workplace Substances [NOHSC:2012(1994)] (PDF 2.2mb)
Dangerous goods labelling requirements
The National Standard for the Storage and Handling of Workplace Dangerous Goods states that workplace dangerous goods must be labelled in accordance with the ADG Code, and include other information to protect the health and safety of persons.
“Other information to protect the health and safety of persons” means information that alerts users to the particular hazardous properties of the chemical and any safety precautions to be taken.
The National Code of Practice for the Labelling of Workplace Substances includes risk and safety phrases that relate to both the health hazards and physicochemical hazards, plus other guidance on labelling.
Review and Approval of labels
Labels must be reviewed periodically in order to keep them up to date, for example when there is a change in the formulation or ingredients that changes the hazardous properties of the chemical, and when new information on the hazards of the product or any of its ingredients becomes available.
A label should also be reviewed when the MSDS is revised. MSDS must be reviewed and revised every 5 years.
Labels of workplace chemicals do not need to be formally approved. However, the OHS authority in each State and Territory is responsible for determining whether a label complies with their relevant legislation or regulations through normal compliance activities.
You should direct any questions regarding labelling requirements to the OHS authority in your state or territory.
Chemicals imported from overseas
In some situations imported chemicals may need to be re-labelled. Not all countries use the same criteria for classification of hazardous substances and dangerous goods, or have equivalent requirements for labelling. As a consequence, some overseas labels do not meet Australian requirements.
Chemicals imported from overseas with labels that contain equivalent information to that prescribed in the Labelling Code of Practice may not need to be re-labelled.
Other labelling requirements
The regulation of chemicals in Australia is a complex arrangement between Australian Government agencies and state and territory regulators. The regulations that apply to a chemical depend to a large extent on the end use of the chemical, and in many cases, more than one regulatory system and labelling requirements may apply to a chemical.
The table below lists some of the key regulatory sectors which may require labelling of chemicals.
For further information about labelling of workplace chemicals contact the OHS authority in your
state or territory
Page last updated: 23/04/2010