Australia Updates IChEMS Register

SG 093/26

Australia revises IChEMS Register by adding 21 chemical entries and amending two existing ones.

In June 2026, Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) issued the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Instrument 2026 (the Amendment). This Amendment assigns several chemicals/groups of chemicals to the nation’s Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Instrument 2022 (IChEMS Register), under the nation’s Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS).

What does the regulation require?

Key provisions in the Amendment include:

• Designating glycerides to Schedule 2 of the IChEMS Register, a category for chemicals that are unlikely to cause harm to the environment (effective January 1, 2027)
• Listing five chemicals in Schedule 3, a category for chemicals considered to have the potential to cause harm to the environment:
  • 1,3-propanediamine, N-[3-(C11-14-isoalkyloxy)propyl]derivs., C13-rich, acetates (January 1, 2027)
  • Carbonodithioic acid, O-(2-methylbutyl) ester, sodium salt (1:1) and carbonodithioic acid, O-(3-methylbutyl) ester, sodium salt (1:1) (January 1, 2027)
  • Group B ethoxylated alcohols (January 1, 2027)
  • Medium and long chain alkyl sulfates (January 1, 2027)
  • Fatty acids (January 1, 2027)
• Classifying five chemicals as Schedule 4, a category for chemicals that may cause harm to the environment:
  • Group A ethoxylated alcohols (January 1, 2027)
  • Parabens (January 1, 2027)
  • Short chain alkyl- and aryl- phthalates (January 1, 2027)
  • Limonene (January 1, 2027)
  • PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, their salts and related compounds, and any substance containing a perfluoropropyl, perfluorobutyl or perfluoropentyl moiety that can degrade to PFBA, PFPeA or PFHxA. This entry excludes chemicals that can degrade to Schedule 5, 6 or 7 substances in addition to PFHxA, PFPeA or PFBA, such as PFHpA and PFOA and their respective related substances that are listed in the register. This entry also exempts hydrofluorocarbons with the molecular formula CnHxF (2n+2-x), where 1 ≤ n ≤ 5, and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamides as listed in the register (January 1, 2027)
• Assigning eight chemicals to Schedule 5, a category for chemicals that are likely to cause harm to the environment:
  • DBP, DEHP and DIOP (January 1, 2027)
  • Lead (2+) salts of long-chain carboxylic acids (LCCAs), a group of structurally similar lead (2+) salts derived from LCCAs (C12-C26) (January 1, 2027)
  • Lead (2+) salts of medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs), a class of structurally similar lead (2+) salts of MCCAs (C6-C12) (January 1, 2027)
  • 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonamides (January 1, 2027)
  • PFBS, its salts and related compounds (January 1, 2027)
  • PFHpA, its salts and related compounds, excluding chemicals that can degrade to Schedule 6 or 7 substances in addition to PFHpA such as PFOA and related substances in the register. This entry also exempts 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamides as listed in the register (January 1, 2027)
  • PFPeS, its salts and related compounds (January 1, 2027)
  • TBBPA (January 1, 2027)
• Revising the list of time-limited essential uses for UV-328 in Schedule 6
• Adding two chemicals to Schedule 7, a category for chemicals that are likely to cause serious or irreversible harm to the environment with no essential uses (see Tables 1 and 2)
• Updating risk management measures for HBCD in Schedule 7

Table 1

Table 2

Who is impacted?

Stakeholders across multiple industries and supply chains are affected, including manufacturers, users, importers and exporters of these industrial substances, as well as products that contain or are contaminated by them.

When does it apply?

The Amendment became effective on June 19, 2026, the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Abbreviations

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