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On July 1, 2020, the Australian Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (a.k.a. IC Act 2019) took effect, which replaced the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989. The implementation of Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) started on the same day, replacing National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) as an overarching regulatory framework for introduction of industrial chemicals into the country (ChemLinked news). Under the new scheme, annual declaration is still the basic post-registration obligation for chemical management in Australia.
According to AICIS, enterprises were allowed not to submit the annual declaration in 2020 to ensure a smooth transition of the regulatory reform. Notably, the first annual declaration under AICIS is due by November 30, 2021, covering the period from July 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021 (after this the usual registration year applies: September 1 – August 31). Enterprises that are obliged to submit an annual declaration shall complete the submission as soon as possible before the deadline, ensuring the chemical activities in Australia are legal and compliant.
What is an Annual Declaration?
Annual Declaration is the compliance report made by the introducers (importers or manufacturers) on the industrial chemicals introduced in the previous registration year (goes from September 1 to August 31), ensuring that the introduction activities comply with the legal requirements. Annual declaration applies to all introduction categories of industrial chemicals, which is independent of the commercial registration or relevant notification/registration of the industrial chemicals as well as the introduction value and notification/registration classification of the chemicals.
Who needs to submit?
Introducers who are registered with AICIS to introduce industrial chemicals or products containing industrial chemicals (for example, cosmetics, paints and plastics) must submit an annual declaration. This applies to all the chemical introductions, regardless of the category, amount or number of chemicals.
When to submit?
The annual declaration submission period is of four months from August 1 to November 30 each year.
The submission of the annual declaration is very simple. Introducers don’t have to list the introduced industrial chemicals or provide lists of products. Introducers just need to answer a few questions and complete a legal declaration via the online form in the AICIS Business Services portal. Even if you introduced multiple chemicals during the previous registration year, you do not need to submit a separate annual report for each chemical. All introduced substances and types of introductions need only be submitted to AICIS via a single form.
How to submit?
The annual declaration form can be completed and submitted online via the AICIS Business Services portal (link). Simply follow the steps shown in the picture:
*The picture above is sourced from AICIS website.
FAQ
No. The annual declaration can only be submitted by the introducer (manufacturer or importer) via AICIS Business Services account. Others such as agents, exporters, and downstream users can not submit the annual declaration on behalf of the introducers.
All the introducers of industrial chemicals shall conduct (or renew) the commercial registration in each registration year. If you previously had a NICNAS Business account, it’ll transfer to a AICIS Business account automatically, and you can go ahead to log in to the AICIS Business Services with the same ID and password. If you’re a new user, go to the AICIS Business website (link) and click “Sign up” to create an account.
If you’re not clear about which introduction categories shall be selected, you need to classify each chemical substance you introduced first. Identifying the category of substances introduced is a very important obligation under AICIS. Corresponding categorization guide and decision tool are provided on the AICIS website to guide introducers to classify the introduced chemicals properly.
If you want to modify your annual declaration after your submission, you can send an email to: [email protected]
If you didn’t introduce any industrial chemical substances in the previous registration year, please inform AICIS via email ([email protected]) as well.
