SG 099/25
Australia adds six chemicals/groups of chemicals to the IChEMS Register.
In June 2025, Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) issued Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Instrument 2025 (the Amendment) to assign several chemicals/groups of chemicals to the nation’s Industrial Chemicals Environment Management (Register) Instrument 2022 (IChEMS Register, Compilation No 4, June 2025).
These chemicals/groups of chemicals are:
- 1,2-dibromoethane (DBE, CAS 106-93-4)
- 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE, CAS 107-06-2)
- Aryl sulfonate hydrotropes
- Decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE, CAS 84852-53-9 and chemicals containing a portion of DBDPE, such as CAS 1092834-40-6)
- Mercury and its compounds (CAS 7439-97-6), including mercury alloys, amalgams and any chemical compound that contains at least one mercury atom
- Tricarbonyl[(1,2,3,4,5-eta.)-1-methyl-2,4-cyclopentadien-1-yl] manganese (MMT, CAS 12108-13-3)
BDPE and mercury and its compounds are listed in Schedule 6 of the IChEMS Register, a category of industrial chemicals that are likely to cause serious or irreversible harm to the environment but are permitted for essential uses. These chemicals, as well as products containing them, will be prohibited from manufacture, import, use and export, with derogations allowed for unintentional trace contaminants (UTCs), time-limited essential uses and disposal, and for articles (products) already in use prior to the effective date of the decision.
DBDPE is a high concern chemical as it has a negative impact on the environment. This additive flame retardant chemical has a wide variety of applications, including, but not limited to plastic parts or insulation coating for cables for automotive equipment, and electrical and electronic equipment. It is also used in building and construction applications, and textiles.
Highlights of the risk management measures in the scheduling of DBDPE are summarized in Table 1.
| Substance¹, ², ³ | Scope | Requirement | Effective date |
| DBDPE |
| Prohibited (manufacture) | January 1, 2027 |
| ≤ 10 mg/kg as UTC (manufacture) | ||
| DBDPE |
| Prohibited (import and export) | January 1, 2027 |
| ≤ 10 mg/kg as UTC (import and export) | ||
| ≤ 500 mg/kg as UTC (import and export) | ||
| DBDPE |
| Prohibited (use) | January 1, 2027 |
| ≤ 10 mg/kg as UTC (use) | ||
| ≤ 500 mg/kg as UTC (use) | ||
¹DBDPE is permitted to be used in defense applications (to be reviewed after July 1, 2033) ²DBDPE is allowed to be used in the following finished articles until July 1, 2037: 1) aerospace, 2) agricultural, construction, manufacturing and machinery, 3) automotive, marine, rail and other transport applications, 4) building and construction materials, 5) electrical and electronic equipment, 6) garden, forestry and outdoor power equipment and 7) industrial machinery, non-road mobile machinery and stationary power equipment. ³DBDPE is authorized to be used in replacement parts for the applications stated in footnotes 1 and 2 above until the end of the service life of the articles or July 1, 2052 | |||
Table 1
The amendment also lists the following chemicals that present a lower risk to the environment:
- Aryl sulfonate hydrotropes are listed in Schedule 2, a category for chemicals that are unlikely to cause harm to the environment
- DCE is designated under Schedule 4, a category for chemicals that may cause harm to the environment
- DBE and MMT are listed under Schedule 5 of the IChEMS Register, a category for chemicals that are likely to cause harm to the environment
The risk management measures for aryl sulfonate hydrotropes, DBE, DCE, MMT and mercury and its compounds will become effective on January 1, 2026.
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