Chemical Register Template

A chemical register is a documented record of all hazardous chemicals used, handled, generated, or stored in the workplace. WHS Regulation 2025 Part 7.1 requires the PCBU to maintain a register of hazardous chemicals and to keep current Safety Data Sheets for each chemical. The register is the central document for managing chemical hazards across the organisation.

This template provides a comprehensive register format that captures each chemical product with its trade name, manufacturer, GHS hazard classification, dangerous goods class and packing group, workplace exposure limits where applicable, SDS date and currency status, storage location and compatibility requirements, risk assessment status, and health monitoring requirements.

The register is designed as both a compliance document and an active management tool. It flags SDS documents that are past their five-year review date, identifies chemicals that require health monitoring for exposed workers, highlights incompatible storage situations, and tracks risk assessment currency for each chemical. This active management approach transforms the register from a static list into a chemical safety management system.

A chemical register is required under WHS Regulation 2025 Part 7.1 Division 2 for all workplaces where hazardous chemicals are used, handled, generated, or stored. The register must be maintained and kept readily accessible to workers, health and safety representatives, and regulators.

The register must be updated when new chemicals are introduced to the workplace, when chemicals are removed from use, when SDS documents are updated, when risk assessments are reviewed, and when storage arrangements change. It should be reviewed at least annually to ensure it reflects the current chemical inventory.

Emergency services also rely on the chemical register and manifest to identify the hazardous chemicals present at a workplace during emergency response. The register must be accessible to emergency responders and should be kept in a location known to all relevant personnel.

How This Is Different

This chemical register template is authored by occupational hygiene professionals who manage chemical hazards in Australian workplaces. The template goes beyond simple product listing by integrating SDS currency tracking, risk assessment status, and health monitoring requirements into the register. This ensures that the register actively drives chemical safety management rather than existing as a passive compliance list. The storage compatibility matrix is a critical feature that identifies potential dangerous reactions between chemicals stored in proximity. Generic chemical registers do not include compatibility assessments, which can lead to incompatible chemicals being stored together with the risk of fire, explosion, or toxic gas release.