A National Approach to the Management of Chemicals

National Framework for Chemicals Environmental Management (NChEM) 

In June 2007 EPHC endorsed the National Framework for Chemicals Environmental Management (NChEM), which includes:

• a Ministerial Agreement on Principles for Better Environmental Management of Chemicals, and

• a Chemicals Action Plan for the Environment.

The Ministerial Agreement demonstrates the commitment by Environment Ministers and their agencies to improve environmental aspects of Australia’s chemical management system.

The Ministerial Agreement and the Chemicals Action Plan for the Environment are available below. For any enquiries concerning the Ministerial Agreement and Chemicals Action Plan please contact the appropriate Chemicals Working Group member in your state or territory - contact details are available below. 

Risk Assessment Guidance Manuals

The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) regulates the introduction of new industrial chemicals into Australia, assesses existing industrial chemicals on a priority bases and assesses the potential occupational health and safety, public health and environmental risks associated with their introduction and use. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is responsible for the assessment, registration and regulation of pesticides and veterinary medicines. The Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) undertakes the environmental risk assessment for consideration in the overall assessment carried out by NICNAS and the APVMA.

The Guidance Manuals used by DEWHA for environmental risk assessments provide an overview of:

• the steps taken to carry out an environmental risk assessment on industrial and agvet chemicals, including lifecycle considerations
• what data are needed and how they are used
• nationally adopted criteria, such as Persistence/Bioaccumulation/Toxicity (PBT)
• how international considerations are taken into account, and
• how risk assessors come to their recommendations about environmental risk management actions.

The Guidance Manuals outline the current practice for conducting environmental risk assessment of industrial chemicals, pesticides and veterinary medicines in Australia.

The Guidance Manuals are available below.

Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) Detailing Options to Establish a ‘Standard Setting’ Body and Framework for Developing Nationally Consistent Decisions to Manage the Environmental Risks of Assessed Chemicals

In the Productivity Commission’s 2008 Research Report on Chemicals and Plastics Regulation, the Commission noted that there is currently no risk management decision-making body for chemicals in the environment sector and no formal policy oversight by environment ministers. This is in contrast to other sectors such as health, transport and occupational health and safety.

In response to the recommendations in the Productivity Commission report, in November 2008 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) directed the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) to develop a proposal for establishing a ‘standard-setting’ body with the primary role of developing risk management recommendations on industrial chemicals for EPHC consideration. COAG noted that this proposal would provide for the development of a single national decision on the environmental management of chemicals that could be adopted by reference and applied consistently in all jurisdictions, and would close a significant gap in current arrangements for environment protection. 

COAG also directed the EPHC to examine the costs and benefits of requiring mandatory environmental labelling of chemicals and examine the feasibility of developing a performance measurement framework for efforts to monitor the impact of chemicals in the environment for impacts both on human health and the environment.

In December 2010 the Environment Protection and Heritage Standing Committee agreed the project scope and funding for the development of a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement on options to create nationally consistent risk management decisions to manage the risk of chemicals.

Consultancy Request for Tender

In implementing directions from COAG the EPHC wishes to develop a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement to develop and assess options to:

• create an effective and efficient mechanism for developing nationally consistent risk management decisions to manage the potential impacts of individual chemicals in the environment;
• establish an advisory body to provide expert advice for developing the nationally consistent risk management decisions;
• include mandatory labels on industrial chemicals with instructions on environmentally safe management, handling and disposal to communicate regulatory requirements; and
• monitor the level of selected chemicals in the environment to ensure that the nationally consistent risk management decisions are effective in addressing the identified risks posed by the chemical to the environment.

NChEM Chemicals Action Plan for the Environment: 2007 - Progress Report

A report on the progress of the NChEM Chemicals Action Plan for the Environment: 2007 was accepted by EPHC on 5 July 2010. Key outcomes include the development of the implementation plans for COAG approval and commencement of projects under the plans. Significant progress was also made with the development of modules for the Environmental Controls Manual in most jurisdictions. A copy of the report can be downloaded from below.

Environmental Labelling – Completion of Stage One

In November 2008, COAG directed EPHC to examine costs and benefits of mandatory environmental labelling of chemicals to determine whether this would result in a net benefit to the community. Under current arrangements, labels for industrial chemicals, used in both the workplace and in domestic situations, do not require information on environmental hazards.

Stage One of this project, which involved the identification of possible voluntary and mandatory options for addressing any identified gaps in environmental labelling, has now been completed.

The report by Economics Associates can be downloaded from below.