Apply for an assessment certificate

Certificate application types

There are 4 types of assessment certificates based on your outcome using our Guide to categorising your chemical importation and manufacture.

1. Health and environment focus

Choose this application if your introduction’s indicative risk to both human health and the environment is medium to high.

2. Health focus

Choose this application if your introduction’s indicative risk to human health is medium to high and the risk to the environment is low or very low.

3. Environment focus

Choose this application if your introduction’s indicative risk to the environment is medium to high and the risk to human health is low or very low.

4. Very low to low risk

You are not required to apply for a certificate if the highest indicative risk of your introduction to human health and the environment is low or very low. However, if you wish to obtain a certificate, choose this application type.

Additional application type - comparable hazard assessment

This only applies if an acceptable hazard assessment body has previously assessed the chemical and your application meets the eligibility criteria.

You can find detailed guidance and information requirements for each application type in our Guide to applying for an assessment certificate.

Permission to use data

If you do not own the data submitted with your application (such as study reports or other references), you must obtain permission from the data owner. 

If you do not have permission to use the data, you cannot legally submit it. Instead, the data owner must be nominated as the chemical data provider.

Learn more: Roles, permissions and data responsibilities in a certificate application.

Overview of information requirements

Chemical name

You will need to provide the chemical’s public name. This can be its CAS name, or its IUPAC name.

Alternatively, you can propose a masked chemical name (AACN) if you want the CAS or IUPAC name to be treated as confidential.

Participating businesses

Each application has an 'initial applicant' who starts the application and submits it when finalised.

The initial applicant needs to know the AICIS business ID for all businesses participating in the application, including:

• other certificate applicants (joint applicants)
• agents
• chemical data providers.

All AICIS business IDs start with ‘NIC’.

Contact people

The initial applicant must nominate one contact person for each participating business. Each contact person must have an existing AICIS Business Services account.

In the online application, you must enter the AICIS business ID as well as the first and last name of the contact person.

The name must exactly match the name used to sign up to their AICIS Business Services account. Each contact person will receive an email to confirm their participation and role in your application.

Chemical identity, use and hazard information

The information you must provide is based on your application type and is covered in our guide under Types of assessment applications and information required.

You may need to provide extra information if your application is for a 'specified class of introduction'.

Application fees

We do not accept split payments. The initial applicant must nominate an invoice payer.

Translating foreign documents

If you have information in another language, read our rules on translating foreign documents into English.