Accord welcomes Industrial Chemicals Bill 2017 passage, February 2019

Passage of Industrial Chemicals Bill 2017 brings welcome certainty for industry. Accord welcomes the level-headed approach taken in the Senate by government, opposition and minor party senators to deliver passage of the Industrial Chemicals Bill 2017 on 14 February 2019. 

Passage of this bill delivers needed certainty for industry, following more than fifteen months of delay since the bill first entered the Senate in 2017. 

The legislation, as passed by the House of Representatives on 18 February 2019, responsibly maintains much-needed alignment with the European Union’s approach on animal testing and cosmetics. This alignment is essential for a workable animal test ban that supports growth of the Australian cosmetics and personal care products industry. Innovation, and Australian consumer access to the latest products, are also dependent on maintaining EU alignment. 

The EU is the largest cosmetics market in the world and many of Australia’s regional trading partners, such as New Zealand and the ASEAN nations, align their regulatory approaches for cosmetics to those of the EU.