Hazardous chemicals

Hazardous chemicals are substances, mixtures and articles that can pose a significant risk to health and safety if not managed correctly. They may have health hazards, physical hazards or both.

Examples of chemicals that can cause adverse health effects include:

• toxic chemicals
• chemicals that cause skin damage
• carcinogens.

Examples of chemicals that can immediately injure people or damage property include:

• flammable liquids
• compressed gasses
• explosives.

Exceptions

Infectious substances, radioactive sources and chemicals that are only hazardous to the environment are not considered hazardous chemicals under the model WHS Regulations.

The following hazard classes are also excluded under the Regulations:

• acute toxicity category 5
• skin irritation category 3
• aspiration hazard category 2
• flammable gas category 2
• acute hazard to the aquatic environment category 1, 2 or 3
• chronic hazard to the aquatic environment category 1, 2, 3 or 4
• hazardous to the ozone layer.

Adoption of GHS 7

From 1 January 2021, Australia will begin a two-year transition from the 3rd revised edition of the GHS (GHS 3) to the 7th revised edition of the GHS (GHS 7). The transition will finish on 31 December 2022. 

During the transition, manufacturers and importers may use either GHS 3 or GHS 7 for classifications, labels and safety data sheets of hazardous chemicals. From 1 January 2023 only GHS 7 may be used. 

Suppliers and users of hazardous chemicals may continue to supply and use chemicals manufactured or imported before 1 January 2023 that are classified and labelled under GHS 3, until their stocks run out. However, suppliers and users of hazardous chemicals should not supply or receive stock manufactured or imported after 31 December 2022 if they have labels or SDS prepared under GHS 3.

Key changes under GHS 7 are:

• the ‘Flammable Aerosols’ hazard class will be renamed to ‘Aerosols’ and will incorporate non-flammable aerosols in a new category ‘Aerosols Category 3’
• the existing flammable gas category (Category 1) will be split into two new categories (Flammable gas Category 1A and Category 1B)
• the introduction of 3 new flammable gas categories:
  • Pyrophoric gas
  • Chemically unstable gas A
  • Chemically unstable gas B
• the introduction of a new hazard class for desensitised explosives, and 
• updated precautionary statements.

Alongside the transition to GHS 7, the definition of ‘hazardous chemical’ under the model WHS laws is being clarified ensure it captures all Category 2 eye irritants including those that fall under Category 2B. This will be done by removing Category 2B eye irritants from the list of exempt hazard classes and categories. 

More information about the changes to GHS 7 can be found on the GHS 7 - transition page.

Special arrangements for 1 July 2020 to 1 January 2021

Australia’s transition to GHS 7 was originally intended to start on 1 July 2020, however the transition was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure that any importers and manufacturers that had already begun work on implementing GHS 7 are not disadvantaged, state and territory governments agreed to put in place regulatory arrangements allowing businesses to start classifying and labelling chemicals in accordance with GHS 7 from 1 July 2020. Suppliers and end users will also be able to supply and use GHS 7 labelled chemicals under these arrangements. For more information about the arrangements in place in your area, you should contact your local WHS regulator. 

Information about the regulatory arrangements in each state and territory will be published on the GHS 7 – transition page when it becomes available.

Work health and safety duties 

If you are a business, you have specific duties under the model WHS Regulations to manage the risks to health and safety associated with using, handling, generating and storing hazardous chemicals at a workplace. These include:

• Ensuring correct labelling of containers and pipework, using warning placards and displaying safety signs.
• Maintaining a register and manifest (where required) of hazardous chemicals and notifying the regulator if you store manifest quantities of hazardous chemicals.
• Identifying any risk of physical or chemical reaction of hazardous chemicals and ensuring their stability.
• Ensuring workplace exposure standards for hazardous chemicals are not exceeded.
• Providing health monitoring to workers (if relevant).
• Providing information, training, instruction and supervision to workers.
• Providing a spill containment system for hazardous chemicals if necessary.
• Obtaining the current SDS from the manufacturer, importer or supplier of the chemical.
• Controlling ignition sources and accumulation of flammable and combustible substances.
• Providing fire protection equipment, firefighting equipment and emergency and safety equipment.
• Providing a copy of your emergency plan to the primary local emergency services organisation if the quantity of a class of hazardous chemical at your workplace exceeds its manifest quantity.
• Ensuring the stability and support of containers for bulk hazardous chemicals, including pipework and attachments.
• Ensuring hazardous chemical storage and handling systems are decommissioned correctly.
• Notifying the regulator as soon as practicable of abandoned tanks in certain circumstances.

Managing the risks associated with hazardous chemicals

Businesses must also manage risks associated with using, handling, generating or storing hazardous chemicals at a workplace, including:

• Identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to the risk.
• Eliminate the risk so far as is reasonably practicable.
• If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, minimise it so far as is reasonably practicable by implementing control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of risk control.
• Maintain the implemented control measure so it remains effective.
• Review and if necessary revise all risk control measures at least every five years maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, a work environment that is without risks to health and safety.

When managing the risks businesses must consider:

• The hazardous properties of the chemical.
• Any potentially hazardous reaction (chemical or physical) between the hazardous chemical and another substance or mixture, including a substance that may be generated by the reaction.
• The nature of the work to be carried out with the hazardous chemical.
• Any structure, plant or system of work that is needed in the use, handling, generation or storage of the hazardous chemical or could interact with the hazardous chemical at the workplace.

Failure to manage the risks associated with hazardous chemicals is a breach of model WHS laws.

Duties of suppliers 

A supplier is anyone who supplies a hazardous chemical that may be used at a workplace. This includes intermediaries in the supply chain such as distributors, on-sellers and wholesalers.

Suppliers of hazardous chemicals must:

• Make sure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that chemicals they supply are without risks to health and safety.
• Provide SDS with hazardous chemicals. In addition they must not supply hazardous chemicals to workplaces if they know, or ought reasonably to know that the chemicals are not correctly labelled.

To legally supply a hazardous chemical the worker must be over 16-years-old.

Duties of manufacturers or importers

Manufacturers or importers include anyone who manufactures or imports chemicals that are classified as hazardous under the model WHS Regulations.

Under the Regulations, a business that packages or re-labels a hazardous chemical with its own product name is a manufacturer and has the same duties as other manufacturers.

Manufacturers or importers of hazardous chemicals must:

• Make sure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that chemicals they manufacture or import are without risks to health and safety.
• Correctly classify the chemicals that they import and/or manufacture, and prepare correct labels and SDS for those chemicals.

The Hazardous Chemical Information System is a web-based information system that helps you to find GHS classification information on chemicals.

Requirements for transporting hazardous chemicals

The model WHS Regulations do not apply to transporting hazardous chemicals. Instead there are laws in each state or territory that set out the requirements for transporting dangerous goods.

• Competent authorities for the transport of dangerous goods by road and rail
• Civil Aviation Safety Authority
• Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Restricted hazardous chemicals

Hazardous chemicals restricted under the model WHS Regulations are included in the table below.

Further advice

SWA is not a regulator and cannot advise you about hazardous chemical compliance. If you need help, please contact your state or territory work health and safety authority.