What replaced NICNAS? AICIS and the Industrial Chemicals Act
NICNAS was Australia's industrial chemicals scheme until 1 July 2020, when AICIS replaced it under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019. Use AICIS now.
What NICNAS was and what replaced it
NICNAS was the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme. On 1 July 2020 the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) replaced it under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019, so a business looking for NICNAS registration or guidance now uses AICIS (AICIS).
AICIS regulates the import and manufacture of industrial chemicals in Australia. It calls these activities "introduction" (AICIS remit).
What replaced NICNAS?
The Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 set up AICIS. The scheme provisions, sections 3 to 180, started on 1 July 2020.
The old law was the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989. The Federal Register of Legislation lists it as no longer in force, repealed on 1 July 2020 (Register details).
Sections 25 to 30 of the Act set out six introduction categories: listed, exempted, reported, assessed, commercial evaluation and exceptional circumstances (Act). Exempted means very low risk, reported means low risk and assessed means medium to high risk. A reported introduction needs a pre-introduction report. An assessed introduction needs an assessment certificate, and you must comply with its terms (AICIS reporting obligations).
The category belongs to the introduction, not the substance. And "exempted" doesn't mean free of duties. Exempted and reported introductions can proceed without an AICIS assessment, but reporting and record-keeping obligations still apply.
What businesses must do now
Registration comes first. AICIS states: "You register your business, not your products or chemicals." You need to be registered before you import or manufacture industrial chemicals, unless an exclusion covers you. The registration year runs from 1 September to 31 August (AICIS registration).
Registration is not a chemical approval, though. For each chemical you also need to work out its introduction category. The Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals is the place to start. It's a database of industrial chemicals available for industrial use in Australia, with listing terms and obligations (AICIS Inventory guidance). Finding a name in a search isn't enough. Under section 25 of the Act, a listed introduction must meet the chemical's Inventory listing terms. For a product with several ingredients, check each industrial chemical separately. A listed chemical also doesn't remove the need to register your business.
Beyond registration, businesses have separate annual declaration and record-keeping duties:
- If you must register, submit an annual declaration for years when you introduced industrial chemicals for commercial purposes. The deadline is 30 November. It confirms authorisation during the previous registration year (AICIS annual declaration). For the year that ended on 31 August 2026, that means 30 November 2026.
- Keep records under section 104 showing the chemicals you introduced, their categories, the basis for categorisation, and the registration charge payable. Retain them for five years beginning immediately after the end of the registration year (Act compilation).
Use current AICIS guidance, not NICNAS-era instructions. The online guide to categorising your introduction records updates in September 2025 and September 2026. That guide is not the formal Categorisation Guidelines. Those Guidelines are dated 1 September 2026. Read them with the Industrial Chemicals General Rules 2019 (AICIS legislation guidance).
A chemical on the AICIS high-hazard list isn't automatically banned. If it's on the Inventory and you meet the listing terms, the listed category can still apply (AICIS high-hazard list).
What about NICNAS cosmetics guidance?
Industrial chemical ingredients in cosmetics fall under AICIS, including ingredients in finished cosmetics you import. AICIS doesn't register cosmetic products themselves (AICIS registration). The legal definition of a cosmetic excludes therapeutic goods, so don't assume every personal-care product is a cosmetic (AICIS glossary).
RegAffairs AI explains the NICNAS-to-AICIS change with sources.