EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued under the authority of the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care
Industrial Chemicals Act 2019
Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Amendment (Application Fees) Rules 2026
Purpose and Operation
The Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Amendment (Application Fees) Rules 2026 (the Amendment Rules) amend the Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Rules 2020 (the Principal Rules) to update fees for services payable under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (the IC Act) as part of the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS).
The Principal Rules prescribe fees for services under the IC Act, including application fees for registration, assessment certificates, authorisations and other services delivered by AICIS.
The Amendment Rules update the fees set out in section 5 of the Principal Rules. In broad terms, the Amendment Rules:
increase the registration application fee from $80 to $85, commencing the day after the Amendment Rules are registered; and
increase assessment certificate application fees (within the existing application types) as an interim step towards full cost recovery, commencing 1 September 2026; and
apply a 3.3% indexation increase to other fees for services, commencing 1 September 2026.
The fee increases support the Australian Government’s cost recovery policy by ensuring that fees more accurately reflect the efficient costs of administering and delivering AICIS regulatory services, while maintaining the existing regulatory framework and application categories.
Background
The IC Act establishes the AICIS as the national regulatory framework for the introduction (importation or manufacture) of industrial chemicals in Australia.
AICIS operates on a full cost recovery basis through a combination of fees for services and annual registration charges. Fees for services are charged for specific applications and regulatory services provided by AICIS, while registration charges are payable annually by registered introducers based on the value of introductions and are set in separate charging instruments. There are 8 registration levels. Level 1 registrants with an introduction value less than $50,000 pay the flat registration fee and do not pay the charge.
The Principal Rules support the operation of the scheme by prescribing fees for services associated with administering the IC Act, including registration applications, assessment certificate applications, Inventory related services, protection of confidential business information, and certain import and export permissions.
The fee changes in the Amendment Rules apply from the 2026-27 registration year. The increase to the registration application fee applies to applications made from the day after registration of the Amendment Rules. The increases to assessment certificate application fees and the indexation of other fees for services apply to applications made on or after 1 September 2026. Applications made before these dates will continue to be subject to the fees in force immediately before the relevant commencement date.
Changes to registration charges (levies) for the 2026-27 registration year are implemented separately through amendments to the Industrial Chemicals Charges (General) Regulations 2020, Industrial Chemicals Charges (Customs) Regulations 2020 and the Industrial Chemicals Charges (Excise) Regulations 2020.
Authority
Section 180 of the IC Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters required or permitted by the IC Act to be prescribed by the rules or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the IC Act.
Paragraph 167(1)(f) of the IC Act provides that the rules may prescribe fees for applications made under the Act, or prescribe a method for working out a fee for an application under the Act.
The Principal Rules, made under the IC Act, prescribe the fees for services payable to AICIS for specified applications and services. The Amendment Rules amend those prescribed fees.
Reliance on subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901
Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power is construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend or vary any such instrument.
Commencement
Sections 1 to 4 and Schedule 1 of the Amendment Rules commence on the day after the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. Schedule 2 of the Amendment Rules commences on 1 September 2026.
Consultation
AICIS published a consultation paper on 10 April 2026 on the proposed fees and charges for 2026-27. Eight submissions were received, including three from industry associations representing businesses in the industrial chemicals sector and five from individual businesses (introducers). Most stakeholders supported reducing the total number of application types and the potential for administrative efficiencies and benefits to applicants. Some raised concerns that reducing the number of application types is inconsistent with a risk-propionate regulatory framework. Stakeholder views on proposed fee increases were mixed. While some supported aligning fees with regulatory effort, they identified challenges in implementation and suggested efficiency improvements; others opposed the increases due to limited clarity on cost justification and concerns about potential impacts on assessment timeframes, particularly for lower indicative risk introductions, with suggestions to instead streamline data requirements to reduce regulatory burden. A detailed summary of stakeholder feedback, including AICIS’s responses, is set out in the AICIS Cost Recovery Implementation Statement 2026–27.
General
The IC Act does not specify any conditions that must be satisfied before the power to make the Amendment Rules may be exercised.
The Amendment Rules are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Details of the Amendment Rules are set out in Attachment A and explains the purpose and effect of those amendments.
The Amendment Rules are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Amendment (Application Fees) Rules 2026
Section 1 - Name
This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Amendment (Application Fees) Rules 2026 (the Amendment Rules).
Section 2 - Commencement
This section provides that the Amendment Rules provide for two commencement dates. Sections 1 to 4 and Schedule 1 commence on the day after the Amendment Rules are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. Schedule 2 commences on 1 September 2026.
Section 3 - Authority
This section provides that the Amendment Rules are made under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (the IC Act).
Section 4 - Schedules
This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Amendment Rules is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to the Amendment Rules has effect according to its terms. Both Schedules amend the Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Rules 2020 (the Principal Rules).
Schedule 1 – Amendments commencing the day after registration
Item 1 - Subsection 5(1) (table item 1, column headed “Amount ($)”)
This item of Schedule 1 amends the table in subsection 5(1) of the Principal Rules to increase the fee for an application for registration from $80 to $85.
The amended registration application fee in Schedule 1 of the Amendment Rules commences on the day after registration of the instrument on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Schedule 2 – Amendments commencing 1 September 2026
Item 1 – Subsection 5(1) (cell at table item 20, column headed “Amount ($)”)
Item 1 of Schedule 2 amends the fees in subsection 5(1) of the Principal Rules relating to applications for approval to export an industrial chemical, to apply a 3.3% indexation increase.
Item 2 – Paragraph 5(2)(b)
Item 3 – Paragraph 5(3)(e)
Item 4 – Paragraph 5(4)(e)
Items 2 to 4 of Schedule 2 amend paragraphs 5(2)(b), (3)(e) and (4)(e) of the Principal Rules to increase fees for assessment certificate applications made under section 31 of the IC Act.
Item 5 – Amendments of listed provisions – subsection 5(1)
Item 5 of Schedule 2 amends items in the tables to subsections 5(1) and (2) of the Principal Rules to apply a 3.3% indexation increase to existing fees for services that apply from the 2026-27 registration year.
The indexation ensures that fees remain aligned with the Australian Government Cost Recovery Framework by accounting for inflation and increases in the cost of service delivery.
These new fees apply to services including variations and consolidated applications, Inventory-related services and protection of confidential business information and certain import and export permissions.
The increase to these fees will apply to applications made, on or after 1 September 2026.
Item 6 – Amendments of listed provisions – subsection 5(2)
Item 6 of Schedule 2 amends items in the tables to subsections 5(2) of the Principal Rules to increase assessment certificate application fees, and apply from 1 September 2026.
These increases form part of a staged approach toward full cost recovery for assessment activities undertaken by AICIS. Assessment certificate applications involve scientific and technical evaluation of industrial chemicals, and the revised fees more accurately reflect the resources required to undertake these assessments while maintaining the existing application categories.
Fee / service | Current amount | New amount | Commencement |
Assessment certificate application fees (existing application types) | (see Principal Rules) | (amended amounts in Schedule 2) | 1 September 2026 |
Other fees for services (indexed fees 3.3%) incl. variations and consolidated applications, Inventory-related services, protection of confidential business information, and certain import/export permissions | (see Principal Rules) | (current amount + 3.3%) | 1 September 2026 |
Note: The table above is a high-level summary of the amendments commencing 1 September 2026. The amended fee amounts for each specific application type and service are set out in Schedule 2 to the Amendment Rules.
ATTACHMENT B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Amendment (Application Fees) Rules 2026
The Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Amendment (Application Fees) Rules 2026 (the Amendment Rules) are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Amendment Rules
The Amendment Rules amend the Industrial Chemicals (Fees and Charges) Rules 2020 (the Principal Rules) to update fees for services for the 2026-27 registration year.
The amendments increase the registration application fee from the day after registration and, from 1 September 2026, increase assessment certificate application fees and apply a 3.3% indexation increase to other fees for services.
Human rights implications
The Amendment Rules amend fees for services and do not otherwise change the operation of the Principal Rules.
The increase in fees do not engage rights such as the right to health in Article 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The fees are regulatory in nature, are set consistently with cost recovery principles, and are necessary to ensure the sustainable operation of the national industrial chemicals' regulatory framework.
The fees do not restrict access to essential goods or services and apply uniformly to regulated entities. Accordingly, the amendments are reasonable, necessary and proportionate.
Conclusion
The Amendment Rules are compatible with human rights as they do not raise any human rights issues.
The Hon Rebecca White MP
Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care