The Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard – or IChEMS – is a national approach to managing industrial chemical introduction, use and disposal. It will deliver more consistent regulation and make it easier for industry to choose less environmentally harmful chemicals. Industry stakeholders are encouraged to be across chemical management reforms.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has recently released Australia’s industrial chemicals roadmap which explains how governments will work together to implement nationally consistent environmental standards for chemicals management within each jurisdiction’s regulatory frameworks and systems.
Following extensive consultation, the department has also released the draft IChEMS decision-making principles. These will guide scheduling decisions on industrial chemicals. You are invited to make submissions until 24 May 2022.
Further information on ICHEMS is available on the department’s recently updated webpage. This includes appointment of the IChEMS Advisory Committee, and update on cost recovery, and a scheduling strategy outlining the department’s scheduling priorities over the next two years.
If you would like to receive future updates on IChEMS you can subscribe to the Department’s mailing list by emailing ichems.enquiry@agriculture.gov.au, or use the details on the website.