Legislative Council, Tuesday 3 June 2025

Ms FORREST question to ACTING LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs PALMER

With regard to new Commonwealth controls due to come into effect as of 1st July 2025 for particular sub-sets of PFAS or ‘forever’ chemicals intentionally added to packaging and products;

1) Will the Government have the required legislation in place by the 1st of July; and
a) if not, why not?

2) Will the proposed national PFAS ban include all the PFAS products available to purchase by consumers, including all the relevant air conditioner/refrigerant gases, cookware utensils and all pharmaceuticals, as well as food packaging, firefighting and waterproofing products; and

a) if not, why not?

3) What impact on the budget will implementing these controls have on Tasmanians?

4) Will the national ban plan to include all PFAS pesticides; and
a) if not, why not?

ANSWER:

1 Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions including Tasmania have been collaborating since 2017 on the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP) to ensure a nationally consistent approach to managing the environmental risks of PFAS is in force.

More recently, the Tasmanian Government has committed, through the Environment Ministers’ Meeting, to incorporate the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS) register into its regulatory framework under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) is currently undertaking policy work to support adoption of the register as soon as practically possible. In the meantime, the Environment Protection Authority Tasmania will continue to support, monitor and enforce compliance with existing requirements for management of industrial chemicals according to risk.

The register can be viewed on the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy and the Environment website at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/national-standard/ichems-online-register

2 The most prevalent PFAS found in the Australian environment and population to date have been perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS).
PFAS have never been manufactured in Australia and the use and import of products containing PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS have reduced significantly in the last 20 years. Today, the importation of PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS has been almost entirely phased-out.

As of 1 July 2025, the importation of PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS to Australia will be prohibited, with limited exceptions such as for research or laboratory purposes. The ban will not apply if the chemicals are unintentionally present in products at low levels.

The IChEMS register sets out prohibitions where scheduled PFAS (either by itself or contained in a mixture, or in an article) is imported, exported, manufactured or used.

As you can see from the register, most of the items that are prohibited or restricted relate to fire-fighting foams and flame retardants. It is likely that products have already, or will shortly be, using alternative ingredients and there will be limited impact.

Exemptions are available if the presence of PFAS is only as an unintentional trace contaminant at certain defined levels of concentration stated in schedule 7.

Other exemptions apply where the PFAS is for a research or laboratory purpose, imported under a hazardous waste permit, or where the PFAS is in an article that was in use on or before 1 July 2025.

3) NRE Tas is currently undertaking policy work to support adoption of the IChEMS register. Budgetary impacts will be assessed through that process, however, it is not expected to have a material impact on consumers of general products. The work being undertaken to recognise the register is being managed within existing departmental resources.

4) This is a matter for the Australian Government. Should a national ban be progressed jurisdictions will be consulted.