When your chemical is due for listing

During the 5-year pre-listing period - while the assessment certificate is in force - only the certificate holder(s) can introduce the chemical. After we list the chemical on the Inventory, it's available for industrial use in Australia by anyone who wishes to introduce it (as long as they are registered with us and can meet any obligations in its listing).

If AICIS grants you protection of your CBI after assessing your chemical

From 1 July 2020, you can only apply for CBI when we assess your introduction. Your CBI approval lasts for 5 years, which means you can apply to continue protection of your CBI when it's time to list the chemical on the Inventory. When we contact you about the upcoming listing, we'll ask you to let us know if you wish to apply for continued protection of your CBI. You’ll need to submit an application and justify the continued CBI protection. A fee also applies.

Read more about confidential business information

If you submit an application for continued CBI protection, we will review any change in circumstances since your original CBI application. In our review, we’ll need to check that you can still meet our statutory test.

• If you still meet the statutory test requirements, we'll list the chemical with protected CBI
• If we decide you no longer meet the statutory test requirements, we’ll tell you of our intention to list the chemical with its full details* (full chemical identity and/or details of end use)

If you tell us you don't wish to continue with CBI or don't respond, we’ll list the chemical with its full details on the Inventory (eg, CAS chemical name and CAS number).

If AICIS doesn't grant you protection of your CBI after assessing your chemical

If you don't agree with our decision, you may ask us to reconsider our decision. You must submit a written request to the Executive Director within 20 working days of receiving our decision.

What CBI did we grant you?

• Protection of the chemical's proper name (AACN) - we'll publish a partially masked name instead of the chemical's proper name
• Protection of the chemical's end use - we’ll publish a 'generalised end use' instead of your specific use of the chemical

Read more about AACNs and generalised end use

If you don't have any protection of CBI

If we did not approve or you did not apply for CBI, we'll list the chemical on the Inventory with its full identity and end use, and any obligations attached to its introduction.

How listing works if there is more than 1 certificate for the same chemical

This can happen if we've assessed the same chemical for different or unrelated applicants. In this situation, each applicant introduces the chemical under their own certificate from the date we issue it to them.

If there is more than 1 certificate, we always list the chemical at the 5-year anniversary date of the first certificate. We'll only list information on the Inventory for that particular certificate.

We also let everyone who is introducing under their own (later) certificate know that the chemical will be listed because of an earlier assessment. We repeat this process when the next certificate reaches its 5-year anniversary.

Importantly, there can only be 1 Inventory listing for a chemical. This means when the next certificate reaches its 5-year anniversary, we update or vary the existing Inventory listing to take into account any terms of introduction from this later certificate.

If you have a later certificate, you have the option to include your use of the chemical on the Inventory listing before the 5-year anniversary of your certificate.