On September 1, 2026, the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) published the 2026 Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines, effective from the same day. The new version also updates the list of high hazard chemicals used for determining introduction categories, with 293 new entries added and 122 existing entries updated. Enterprises introducing industrial chemicals in Australia should check their introduction categorisation against the new guidelines in a timely manner.
Key Revisions
Compared with the 2025 version, the 2026 Categorisation Guidelines mainly involve the following three changes:
- Update of the list of high hazard chemicals: 293 new entries have been added to the list, and 122 existing entries have been updated;
- Expansion of hazard characteristics in Step 4.4: five chemicals, after being added to section 6.5.2 of the guidelines (information required to demonstrate the absence of developmental toxicity), have correspondingly been added to the hazard characteristics of human health hazard band C under Step 4.4. All five chemicals are 1H-benzotriazole and its monosubstituted derivatives, as specified below;
- Revision of the definition of "chemical identity holder": to improve clarity, a single definition has replaced the two original definitions — in relation to an industrial chemical, a chemical identity holder means a person who knows information relating to the chemical identity of the chemical.
Chemicals Newly Added to Section 6.5.2
The five chemicals newly added to section 6.5.2 are shown in the table below:
|
Chemical Name |
CAS registry number |
|
1H-Benzotriazole, 6-chloro- |
94-97-3 |
|
1H-Benzotriazole |
95-14-7 |
|
1H-Benzotriazole, 6-methyl- |
136-85-6 |
|
1H-Benzotriazole, 6(or 7)-methyl- |
29385-43-1 |
|
1H-Benzotriazole, 7-methyl- |
29878-31-7 |
According to the AICIS evaluation statement (EVA00122), 1H-benzotriazole and its monosubstituted derivatives meet the GHS classifications for multiple human health hazards, including developmental toxicity. As the salts of these chemicals dissociate to form the parent chemicals, AICIS considers that their salts have the same systemic hazard characteristics as the parent chemicals. Therefore, introducers who need to demonstrate in the categorisation process that their introduction does not have the developmental toxicity hazard characteristic may need to verify that the chemical they introduce is not a salt of the above chemicals. Exemptions for salts include: first, the salt is a high molecular weight polymer with a low content of low molecular weight species; second, the salt has a molecular weight of 1,000 g/mol or greater.
AICIS has also stated that the change is not expected to affect existing introductions: to date, AICIS has not received any pre-introduction report (PIR) or post-introduction declaration (PID) affected by the change, and the few commercial salts identified are used only outside Australia.
Background of the Revisions
The above changes were previously announced by AICIS on March 4 and August 14, 2026, respectively, and were finalized after public consultation. They are now implemented in the 2026 version of the guidelines. The relevant public consultation was conducted from November 13, 2025 to January 28, 2026, during which AICIS received seven submissions.
Obtaining and Using the Guidelines
When determining the category of an introduction, enterprises can directly use the online version of the Guide for categorising your chemical importations and manufacture (https://www.industrialchemicals.gov.au/help-and-guides/guide-categorising-your-chemical-importation-and-manufacture), which reflects all the changes effective from September 1, 2026. The full text of the 2026 Categorisation Guidelines can be downloaded from the Industrial chemicals laws in Australia page of the AICIS website.
ChemRadar Insights
This update is directly relevant to enterprises introducing industrial chemicals in Australia, which are advised to note the following:
- Re-check categorisation: changes to the list of high hazard chemicals and to the definition of "chemical identity holder" may alter the categorisation outcomes and the corresponding information requirements of some introductions. Enterprises whose chemicals are involved in the newly added or updated entries should re-check their categorisation against the 2026 version of the guidelines;
- Watch salt verification: enterprises introducing 1H-benzotriazole and its monosubstituted derivatives or their salts should pay particular attention to the developmental toxicity verification requirements in section 6.5.2 and to the exemptions for salts;
- Use the latest guidelines: from September 1, 2026, categorisation should be based on the 2026 version of the guidelines and the updated online categorisation guide. Continuing to rely on the 2025 version may lead to misjudgement.
