Proposed national approach to product stewardship action on environmental impacts of products - consultation

In 2015, Australian environment ministers agreed to establish a national standard to manage the environmental risks of industrial chemicals.

A draft National Standard for Environmental Risk Management of Industrial Chemicals was developed. We consulted stakeholders on its design and processes from 2015 to 2018.

We released draft legislation to set up the National Standard for public consultation from 7 January to 21 February 2020.

The package included:

  • draft Commonwealth legislation
  • examples of supporting instruments
  • explanatory materials.

Draft legislation package

Exposure Draft

Draft Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Bill (PDF - 423.84 KB)
Draft Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Bill (DOCX - 141.84 KB)

These explanatory notes give an overview of the key functions and mechanisms under the Bill:

Explanatory Notes – Overview of the proposed Legislative Framework (PDF - 202.73 KB)
Explanatory Notes – Overview of the proposed Legislative Framework (DOCX - 228.7 KB)

Explanatory Notes – Advisory Committee (PDF - 155.15 KB)
Explanatory Notes – Advisory Committee (DOCX - 128.75 KB)

Explanatory Notes – Scheduling Decisions (PDF - 182.27 KB)
Explanatory Notes – Scheduling Decisions (DOCX - 133.76 KB)

Explanatory Notes – Information Use and Disclosure (PDF - 218.14 KB)
Explanatory Notes – Information Use and Disclosure (DOCX - 129.08 KB)

Principles

Draft Industrial Chemicals Environment Management Register Principles (PDF - 200.49 KB)
Draft Industrial Chemicals Environment Management Register Principles (DOCX - 143.77 KB)

The Principles are a supporting instrument to the Bill. This instrument will outline the criteria the Minister must comply with when making decisions about industrial chemicals under the proposed legislation. The explanatory notes provide further information:

Explanatory Notes – Decision-making Principles (PDF - 113.57 KB)
Explanatory Notes – Decision-making Principles (DOCX - 126.57 KB)

Register

Example Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Register (PDF - 222.97 KB)
Example Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Register (DOCX - 189.97 KB)

The Register is a supporting instrument to the Bill. It records and publishes scheduling decisions by the Minister. This is an example of what the register may look like. Scheduling decisions cannot be made by the Minister until the legislation is in place.

Find more detailed notes on the register:

Explanatory Notes – Register (PDF - 108.64 KB)
Explanatory Notes – Register (DOCX - 125.36 KB)

Risk management measures

Information Paper – Risk Management Measures (PDF - 147.36 KB)
Information Paper – Risk Management Measures (DOCX - 133.17 KB)

Risk management measures will be incorporated in scheduling decisions in order to set requirements associated with a particular use or disposal of a chemical. A standard suite of risk management measures has been developed in consultation with states and territories, building on feedback received through consultation in 2017.

Categorising PBT chemicals

Information Paper – Criteria used to categorise an organic chemical as Persistent, Bioaccumulative and/or Toxic (PDF - 125.66 KB)
Information Paper – Criteria used to categorise an organic chemical as Persistent, Bioaccumulative and/or Toxic (DOCX - 116.46 KB)

The National Persistence, Bioaccumulation and Toxicity criteria are indicators used to categorise those characteristics of organic chemicals. This Information Paper provides definitions of these terms, which form part of the Principles.

Responses to draft legislation package

We received 11 formal responses. Submissions were made by national bodies, government agencies, and other interested organisations and individuals.

We would like to thank those who responded.

Submissions received

These are the non-confidential submissions we received:

Policy development documents

Draft national standard and categorisation tool

Draft National Standard for environmental risk management of industrial chemicals (PDF - 830.93 KB)
Draft National Standard for environmental risk management of industrial chemicals (DOCX - 1.87 MB)

Draft Explanatory Document (PDF - 2.86 MB)
Draft Explanatory Document (DOCX - 4.59 MB)

Draft Categorisation Tool (XLSM - 252.01 KB)

Read more

Submissions disclaimer

The submissions published on this webpage are presented by the Department for the purpose of disseminating information to the public.

The views contained in published submissions are the responsibility of the authors and should not be taken to represent the views of the Australian Government. Publication does not in any way constitute endorsement of the views of the authors.

The Department does not verify the information contained in published submissions and makes no representation or warranty about the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained in submissions.

The Department disclaims liability, to the extent permitted by law, for any liability, loss, damage or cost arising from any information contained in published submissions.

While the Department values public consultation highly and seeks to be transparent, it is under no obligation to publish submissions it receives and reserves the right not to publish submissions on its website that raise legal or other concerns.