Business, hobby or personal use

Hobby and personal use

You don't need to register with us if you:

• make products at home for your personal use
• buy products from overseas for your personal use
• gift your work to friends or family
• sell your work for the cost of the materials

However, you must register with us if you sell products for a profit or use them to market your business — even if you are a small or start-up business.

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science provides further guidance on the difference between a hobby and a business.

Example 1: Conrad wants to make bath bombs at home to give as Christmas presents to friends and family. He buys a bottle of essential oil from overseas to add as an ingredient to his bath bombs. Conrad does not need to register with us.

Example 2: Jenna makes her own soap using a cold process (saponification) and sells it to friends for the price of the materials. She does not make a profit. Jenna does not need to register with us.

Example 3: Daniel buys hard-to-find fragrances on the internet and ships them to his home to create his own unique aftershave spray. He uses it himself and occasionally gifts it to friends. Daniel does not need to register with us.

Example 4: Natalie buys a lipstick from an online cosmetics store. The lipstick is shipped to Natalie's home from a warehouse in the USA. As the lipstick is for her own personal use, Natalie does not need to register with us.

Commercial use

You must register with us if you sell products for a profit or use them to market your business — even if you are a small or start-up business. This includes:

• handing out free samples of your products on the street or in stores to market your business
• selling products at markets such as homemade soap and lip balms

We have a sliding scale of fees based on the total value of industrial chemicals you introduce over our registration year (1 September to 31 August).

After registering, you must search the Inventory for every industrial chemical ingredient in your product.

Example 1: Youmie makes her own goat’s milk soap using a hot process (saponification) and sells it at the local craft market. Youmie must register with us.

Example 2: Company XYZ wants to import coconut oil to add to an ‘organic’ moisturising cream that’s sold in health food shops. Company XYZ has been in business for 6 months and makes a small profit over and above the price of the materials. Company XYZ must register with us.

Example 3: Company ABC is an Australian business that imports $150,000 worth of packaged soap to re-sell to other small businesses. Company ABC must register with us. The other small businesses that buy the soap from Company ABC do not need to register with us.

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