National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme

The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) was established in 1990, with two main functions:

• To protect the public, workers and the environment from the detrimental effect of industrial chemicals and
• To provide ongoing assessment of new and existing chemicals in Australia to determine their safety.

All commercial businesses that import and/or manufacture industrial chemicals are required to register their business with NICNAS. This registration requirement applies to all businesses, regardless of the quantity of chemicals imported and/or manufactured in that year. The registration runs from 1 September to 31 August of the following year.

The NICNAS website provides a brochure for download with outlines the NICNAS registration process (PDF, 3.9MB)

Each month, NICNAS publishes an electronic newsletter - The Chemical Gazette - that provides current information for the biotechnology industry as well as the general public.

The Environmental Protection Agency Victoria

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Victoria is a statutory authority with the purpose of protecting and improving the Victorian environment.

Under the Environment Protection Act 1970, all scheduled premises (as designated in the Environment Protection (Scheduled Premises and Exemptions) Regulations 2007) are required to obtain licences from the EPA. Licences cover the site operations and set limits for operation, waste discharge, and waste acceptance conditions as appropriate.

The EPA website provides information on EPA licences and approvals, which includes the types of licences available, licensing fees and how to appeal EPA licensing decisions.

Links

• NICNAS home page
• EPA Victoria home page