Exempt substances and laboratories
Some laboratories and hazardous substances are exempt or excluded from the Hazardous Substance and New Organisms (HSNO) Act. You do not need an approval to import or manufacture them.
Exempt hazardous substances
Radioactive material
Substances that are radioactive, UN class 7, are not covered by the Act unless they are also flammable, explosive, corrosive, oxidising, toxic or ecotoxic.
Medicine intended for people
The regulation of medicine intended for people is covered by MedSafe. However, the ingredients used to manufacture medicine require an approval under the Act.
Food
Ready-to-eat food is exempt. However, food additives do require approval.
Infectious substances
UN class 6 infectious substances are not regulated.
Manufactured articles
Manufactured articles are excluded from being hazardous substances under the HSNO Act. The exception is for articles with explosive properties.
A substance is considered a manufactured article or a substance depending on its properties such as physical form, use, and intrinsic hazardous properties. You may need to check whether your product is a manufactured article or needs to be regulated by the EPA as a substance.
View the Manufactured articles information sheet (PDF, 66KB)
If a manufactured article has explosive properties it will require approval. This means that explosive substances incorporated into detonators, flares or fireworks are considered hazardous substances for the purposes of the Act.
We also have specific guidance for products containing insecticides or insect repellents which need an approval from us.
Read the guidance for products containing insecticides or insect repellents (PDF, 83KB)
Non-hazardous substances
If your substance does not meet any of the hazard classifications, then it is not regulated under the Act. However, if you mix a hazardous substance with a non-hazardous substance, then the resulting mixture may be hazardous.
Exempt laboratories
Using hazardous substances on a small scale for research and development, or teaching, is exempt from the HSNO Act.
However, commercial laboratories selling hazardous substances cannot operate as exempt laboratories.
You can access information about what type of laboratory can operate as an exempt laboratory, how to become an exempt laboratory, and operating as an exempt laboratory on the WorkSafe website.