Australia Regulatory News

On 5 November 2025, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) launched a public consultation on proposed environmental management standards for ten groups of industrial chemicals under the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS). The draft decisions set out proposed schedule assignments, which determine the level of environmental control that would apply. The consultation is open until 8 December 2025. The chemical groups included in this consultation are proposed for listing in Schedules 3, 4, and 5 of IChEMS.

Chemical Groups Included in the Consultation

The proposal covers the following groups of industrial chemicals:

• Dibutylphthalate, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and diisooctylphthalate
• Short-chain alkyl- and aryl-phthalates
• Lead(2+) salts of long-chain carboxylic acids
• Lead(2+) salts of medium-chain carboxylic acids
• Parabens
• Ethoxylated alcohols (Group A)
• Ethoxylated alcohols (Group B)
• Medium and long-chain alkyl sulfonates
• 1,3-Propanediamine, N-[3-(C11–14-isoalkyloxy)propyl] derivatives, C13-rich, acetates (Lilaflot 817M)
• Carbonodithioic acid, O-(2-methylbutyl) ester, sodium salt (1:1) and carbonodithioic acid, O-(3-methylbutyl) ester, sodium salt (1:1)

The two groups of ethoxylated alcohols are evaluated separately due to differences in their hazard profiles under the AICIS assessment.

• Ethoxylated alcohols (Group A) are proposed for Schedule 4, based on their classification as Aquatic Chronic 2.
• Ethoxylated alcohols (Group B) are proposed for Schedule 3, with classifications of Aquatic Chronic 3 or no chronic GHS classification.

These distinctions reflect differing levels of anticipated environmental concern and result in different proposed management requirements under IChEMS.

Background on IChEMS

IChEMS is Australia’s national framework for managing the environmental risks of industrial chemicals. The system assigns chemicals to one of seven schedules. Schedule 1 contains chemicals of minimal environmental concern that require only basic stewardship, while Schedule 7 contains chemicals of the highest concern, which may not be used, imported or manufactured without explicit authorisation. Schedules 3, 4 and 5 fall between these two extremes and impose increasing levels of environmental control depending on the assessed risk.

• Schedule 3 applies to chemicals that have the potential to cause harm to the environment.
• Schedule 4 applies to chemicals that may cause harm to the environment and therefore require tighter management measures.
• Schedule 5 applies to chemicals that are likely to cause harm to the environment and may be subject to more stringent conditions, restrictions or prohibitions.

The substances included in this consultation fall within Schedules 3, 4 and 5, reflecting varying levels of environmental concern.

Next Steps

After the consultation period ends, the DCCEEW will review stakeholder input before finalising the schedule assignments. Once adopted, the schedules will determine the environmental management obligations for importers, manufacturers, and industrial users of these chemicals.

The consultation documents, proposed scheduling decisions, chemical profiles and the survey can be found here.