CAS 67-56-1 · AICIS · Australia

Methanol under AICIS

CH3OH · 甲醇

Status: Listed. Methanol 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 >5% 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 methanol as a routine listed industrial chemical and the importer side just needs current registration plus an Australian-format WHS SDS with the H370 eyes-blindness hazard statement. ChAFTA preferential zero-duty makes the China-Australia methanol lane competitive on industrial-grade tonnage. Australian downstream demand (formaldehyde resins for plywood and MDF, biodiesel co-solvent, fuel additives) is structural; freight and tank availability are usually the binding constraints, not regulatory. SUSMP Schedule 6 retail-packaging rules apply only when repackaging methanol-containing consumer products; industrial bulk is unaffected.

Listing and threshold

Substance Methanol (CAS 67-56-1), CH3OH
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: Acute Tox. 3 (oral, dermal, inhalation, H301 + H311 + H331), Flam. Liq. 2 (H225), STOT SE 1 (eyes, H370)
  • SUSMP Schedule 6 (Poison) for >5% concentration: retail packaging restrictions
  • Workplace exposure standard (Safe Work Australia): TWA 200 ppm with skin notation
  • WHS Regulation 2011 hazardous-chemical handling rules apply
  • Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG 7.7) Code: UN 1230, Class 3 + 6.1 dual hazard, PG II

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • No AICIS-specific use restrictions for industrial methanol
  • SUSMP Schedule 6 means concentrations >5% must be in approved containers with poison labelling for retail sale
  • Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG 7.7) Code applies for road and rail transport (UN 1230, dual flammable + toxic)
  • NSW EPA additional storage requirements above threshold quantities (methanol commonly triggers Notification of Chemicals Storage)
  • Some states (WA, QLD) have explosives-precursor reporting through state Police, similar to the EU framework but lighter
  • CARB-style carbon-intensity scoring NOT applicable in Australia (no equivalent scheme), so coal-route Chinese methanol is competitive without the LCFS penalty that applies in California

Importer obligations

The Australian importer of record must be registered with AICIS (online registration is straightforward and annual). For Listed Industrial Chemicals like methanol no individual chemical assessment is required. For >5% concentration, SUSMP Schedule 6 packaging and labelling rules apply; industrial bulk is exempt from retail restrictions but the transition to repackaged retail-grade product (windscreen-wash, automotive racing fuel, fuel-cell additives) 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 >5% offered outside industrial bulk
  • Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG) Code declaration for road and rail transport (UN 1230)
  • Customs entry (ICS / ABF) with HS code 290511
  • 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 (windscreen wash, automotive racing fuel, cleaning solvents)
  • NSW, QLD, VIC have additional storage and transport rules beyond Federal; check destination-state SafeWork / EPA
  • Australia is a net importer of methanol for downstream chemical and biodiesel manufacturing; freight and tank availability often binding alongside the regulatory layer
  • Methanol blindness (H370 hazard statement) requires extra labelling care for any retail-channel product; industrial bulk is unaffected

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for methanol, see the CAS 67-56-1 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the methanol cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

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

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

Read next

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

Referenced in

6 pages across the Sourzi moat

This term shows up in 4 regulatory pages, 1 topic clusters, 1 CAS profiles. Sample backlinks per content type below.

Regulatory (4)

Plus 1 more regulatory pages.

Topic cluster (1)

CAS (1)

Free download

Free PDF: the same MSDS verification template the Sourzi team uses to cross-reference factory documents against TSCA, REACH, AICIS, and CDR before booking.