All Australian governments are working together to strengthen chemicals management laws to protect our land, air, and water.
The Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard – or IChEMS – has been established to help industry and governments manage the environmental risks of chemicals.
IChEMS is a national approach to managing industrial chemical use, storage, handling, and disposal to help protect the environment, reduce pollution, and deliver more consistent regulation.
IChEMS has been established by the Commonwealth’s Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021.
More information about IChEMS including latest news, public consultation processes and a link to the Commonwealth's legislation can be found at the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) website.
Future Management of Chemical in Tasmania
The Tasmanian government has signed a national agreement to adopt the IChEMS Register into the Tasmanian regulatory framework thereby ensuring a nationally consistent approach to the environmental management of industrial chemicals.
NRE Tas is developing state legislation to incorporate regulating key chemicals of concern into the state's regulatory framework, for parliament's consideration. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will be the regulator once the laws are in place. In the meantime, the EPA will continue to support, monitor and enforce compliance with existing requirements for management of industrial chemicals according to risk.
Australian Government IChEMS Consultation
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is currently seeking feedback on proposed regulatory scheduling decisions for managing chemicals under the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS).
Consultation is now open on 14 classes of industrial chemicals and a proposed variation to an existing standard:
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS) and related substances
Perfluorononanesulfonic acid (PFNS), perfluorodecanesulfonic acid (PFDS) and related substances
2,4,6-Tri-tert-butylphenol
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) and related substances
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) and related substances
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS) and related substances
6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonamides
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Butylated hydroxyanisole and related antioxidants
Tetrabromobisphenol A
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and related substances
l. Limonene
m. Fatty acids
n. Glycerides
Proposed variation:
15. Phenol, 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-bis(1,1-dimethylpropyl)- (UV-328)
Proposed additional Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Numbers (CAS Numbers) be included in the indicative lists associated with the existing standard for:
16. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and related substances
The proposed standards relate to industrial uses of the chemicals/chemical groups, and to their impacts on the environment. They aim to establish nationally consistent standards for managing the import, manufacture, export, use and disposal of industrial chemicals. The IChEMS does not explicitly manage risks to human health.
While open to the public, this Have Your Say process is most relevant to chemical importers, manufacturers, users, and the hazardous waste industry.
To find out more about the consultation process including proposed standards, proposed scheduling decisions, chemical profiles and to have your say, visit the DCCEEW's IChEMS Consultation Hub webpage before submissions close on 5pm Friday 24 April 2026.
DCCEEW requests that any questions relevant to the above proposed standards be sent to the IChEMS mailbox at ichems.enquiry@dcceew.gov.au.