There have been a number of important changes to the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 and Schedule, that commenced in September 2011.

In summary, the changes relate to:

• cosmetics regulatory reforms by allowing chemicals eg cosmetic ingredients previously regulated by other agencies ie TGA to be transferred to NICNAS.

• notification and assessment data requirements for ultra-violet (UV) filters in secondary sunscreen products

• removal of the need to prepare and publish summary assessment reports, and

• amendment of some data requirements and assessment - related matters for new chemical notifications. This includes more information on the quantity of chemical to be introduced and more specific requirements on how the public is exposed to the chemical.  

The revised Act incorporating these changes is available from the NICNAS website