Hazardous chemicals register · SDS
Hazardous chemicals register and SDS register template for Australia.
A hazardous chemicals register lists every product you use, handle or store, with a current safety data sheet, quantity and location for each one. PolicySystem is an SDS register template for Australian small business. The same list sits next to your WHS policy so a prequal desk or ISO 45001 assessor sees one current register.
What a hazardous chemicals register must contain
Under the model WHS Regulations a PCBU must keep a register of hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace. List each product by name and hold the current safety data sheet. Quantity and location belong on the same row so workers and emergency services can find it. Supplier, SDS date and the GHS signal word are the columns assessors expect next.
Manufacturers and importers must review an SDS at least every five years. A sheet older than five years is treated as not current. The register flags overdue sheets so you ask the supplier before a CM3 pack or an ISO 45001 visit.
Hazardous materials, substances and chemical registers
Victoria's OHS Regulations describe the same duty as a hazardous substances register. Clients also ask for a hazardous materials register, a chemical register or a hazmat register. Those names usually mean this list: product, current SDS, how much, and where it is. A hazardous materials register can also cover asbestos or other materials, so read the request before you send only chemicals.
Who asks for it
CM3, LinkSafe, Avetta and plenty of head contractors ask for a hazardous chemicals and SDS register. ISO 45001 assessors ask how you control chemical risk. A client who says "send your WHS system" often means this register plus the policy and induction. We are not those portals. You export and upload.
What this is not
Not a full chemist or dangerous goods consignment system. Not SWMS for using the chemical on a job. Not an inspection app. If you cart packaged dangerous goods on the road, you still need the transport rules that sit outside this register.
What each column on the register is for
| Column | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Product name and supplier | Matches the label to the SDS and tells you who to ask for an updated sheet. |
| SDS issue date | Proves the sheet is within the five-year currency period. |
| GHS signal word and hazard class | Shows you know how dangerous it is and drives the controls in the procedure. |
| Location and quantity | Emergency services and assessors want to know where it is and how much. |
| Status (current or discontinued) | Keeps history without listing products you no longer use as live. |
From register to procedure to training
The register is the list. The hazardous chemicals procedure says how you buy, store, label, use and dispose of what is on it, and what to do in a spill. The training register shows who was trained in that procedure. An assessor follows the chain: pick a chemical on the register, find the control in the procedure, find the worker who uses it on the training register. PolicySystem keeps all three in one system so the chain holds.
The prequal and ISO angle
CM3, LinkSafe and Avetta assessments almost always include a line for the hazardous chemicals register and sample SDS. ISO 45001 clause 8.1.2 (hierarchy of controls) and ISO 14001 (environmental aspects, spills) both look at the same register. One current list serves every request. See theCM3 pack page for the rest of the upload.
Where to next
CM3 pack · WHS management system · ISO 14001 · Induction and training · Document control
Common questions.
Under the model WHS Regulations (and the Victorian OHS Regulations) a PCBU must keep a register of hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace, listing each chemical by product name and holding the current safety data sheet for it. Quantity and location sit on the same list so workers and emergency services can find it. The register must be accessible to workers and emergency services. Supplier and the GHS signal word are common extra columns.
Manufacturers and importers must review an SDS at least every five years. A sheet older than five years is treated as not current and an assessor or prequal desk will ask for a newer one. The register flags sheets approaching that age so you ask the supplier before the audit.
A hazardous chemicals register is the current WHS term. A hazardous substances register is the same duty in Victorian OHS language, and in older national wording. A hazardous materials register, chemical register or hazmat register is usually the same list under a broader name. Check the request: some clients use hazardous materials for asbestos or other materials as well.
Yes. The register is the SDS register template: product name, current SDS, quantity, location, supplier and GHS signal word. Fill it with the chemicals you actually use. That is what prequal desks and ISO 45001 assessors ask to see.
Most commercial cleaning products do. Disinfectants, degreasers, descalers, bleach, solvent-based strippers and glass cleaners are typically classified under GHS and need an SDS and a register entry. Household-strength products bought retail may be exempt for some duties, but if you use them at work it is safer to list them.
The register lists everything hazardous you use. A dangerous goods manifest is required only when you store dangerous goods above placarding quantities and is for emergency services. Most small cleaning, trades and services businesses need the register and not the manifest. Transporting dangerous goods on the road is a separate regime again.