CAS 7647-01-0 · AICIS · Australia

Hydrochloric acid under AICIS

HCl · 盐酸

Status: Listed. Hydrochloric acid is on the AICIS (Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme; replaced NICNAS on 1 July 2020 under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019, verify against https://www.industrialchemicals.gov.au/about-us/who-we-are-and-what-we-do) Inventory of Industrial Chemicals as a Listed Industrial Chemical. The substance was on the original NICNAS inventory at scheme inception (1990) and carries through to AICIS post-2020. Concentrations >10% are on the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP, also known as the Poisons Standard) Schedule 6 (Poison; "Substances with a moderate potential for causing harm" requiring distinctive packaging with strong warnings; verified against TGA Poisons Standard at https://www.tga.gov.au/products/regulations-all-products/legislation-and-legislative-instruments/poisons-standard-susmp); industrial bulk is exempt from retail packaging restrictions.

AICIS treats HCl as a routine listed industrial chemical and the importer side just needs current registration plus an Australian-format WHS SDS. ChAFTA preferential zero-duty makes the China-Australia HCl lane competitive on industrial-grade tonnage. Australian mining demand (gold cyanidation pre-treatment, copper SX-EW, uranium ISL) is the structural pull along with steel-pickling at BlueScope and InfraBuild. SUSMP Schedule 6 retail-packaging rules apply only when repackaging for swimming-pool muriatic acid or drain unblockers; industrial bulk is unaffected.

Listing and threshold

Substance Hydrochloric acid (CAS 7647-01-0), HCl
Regime Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS), administered by the Department of Health
Jurisdiction Australia
Status Listed
Tonnage threshold AICIS introducer registration required for any business introducing >100 kg/year of any industrial chemical

Classifications under this regime

  • Listed Industrial Chemical on AICIS Inventory
  • GHS classification: Skin Corr. 1B (H314), STOT SE 3 (H335), Met. Corr. 1 (H290); anhydrous gas form adds Acute Tox. 3 inhalation (H331)
  • SUSMP Schedule 6 (Poison) for >10% concentration: retail packaging restrictions
  • Workplace exposure standard (Safe Work Australia): Peak limit 5 ppm
  • WHS Regulation 2011 hazardous-chemical handling rules apply
  • Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG 7.7) Code: UN 1050 anhydrous gas Class 2.3 + 8, UN 1789 aqueous solution Class 8 PG II

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • No AICIS-specific use restrictions for industrial HCl
  • SUSMP Schedule 6 means concentrations >10% must be in approved containers with poison labelling for retail sale
  • Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG 7.7) Code applies for road and rail transport
  • NSW EPA additional storage requirements above threshold quantities
  • Some states (WA, QLD) have explosives-precursor reporting through state Police, similar to the EU framework but lighter

Importer obligations

The Australian importer of record must be registered with AICIS (online registration is straightforward and annual). For Listed Industrial Chemicals like HCl no individual chemical assessment is required. For >10% concentration, SUSMP Schedule 6 packaging and labelling rules apply; industrial bulk is exempt from retail restrictions but the transition to repackaged retail-grade product (drain unblockers, pool-acid retail packs, swimming-pool muriatic acid) needs Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) compliance review.

Required documents

  • AICIS introducer registration certificate (annual)
  • WHS-compliant Safety Data Sheet (Safe Work Australia model code format)
  • SUSMP Schedule 6 compliant labelling for any concentration >10% offered outside industrial bulk
  • Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG) Code declaration for road and rail transport (UN 1050 or UN 1789 depending on form)
  • Customs entry (ICS / ABF) with HS code 280610
  • Notification of Chemicals Storage (NSW EPA) if storage above threshold

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

  • AICIS registration must be CURRENT at customs clearance; lapsed registrations trigger holds at first arrival
  • WHS SDS format differs from US OSHA HCS and EU REACH eSDS: Australian-format SDS is required
  • SUSMP Schedule 6 packaging rules catch first-time importers selling repackaged retail product (pool-acid, drain unblockers)
  • NSW, QLD, VIC have additional storage and transport rules beyond Federal
  • Anhydrous HCl gas (UN 1050) tube-trailers vs aqueous HCl solution (UN 1789) bulk-tankers are separate logistics categories
  • Australia is a net importer of merchant HCl for the mining sector (gold cyanide-leach pre-treatment, copper SX-EW, uranium ISL); freight and tank availability often binding

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for hydrochloric acid, see the CAS 7647-01-0 sourcing reference.

For the structure and history of AICIS, see the AICIS glossary entry.

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