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Chemical register template for WA workplaces (free Excel and PDF)
Western Australia doesn’t have its own register form. The rules sit in the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022, which are based on the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations. The hazardous chemicals register is regulation 346, the same number as in the model regulations. Mines follow the matching regulation in the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022.
The free template below works for a WA workshop or workplace as it is. Download it in Excel, PDF or CSV, no sign-up.
What must a WA chemical register contain?
Under regulation 346, the person conducting a business or undertaking must make sure a register of hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace is prepared and kept at the workplace, and maintained so the information in it is up to date. The register must include:
- a list of the hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored, and
- the current safety data sheet (SDS) for each hazardous chemical listed.
It must be readily accessible to workers involved in using, handling or storing a hazardous chemical, and to anyone else likely to be affected by one at the workplace.
Unlike the model regulations, WA’s version states its penalties as fines in dollars. For the register itself: up to $7,000 for an individual and $35,000 for a body corporate. For access: up to $4,200 and $21,000.
What WorkSafe WA adds
WorkSafe WA’s register page says only chemicals classified as hazardous belong in the register, and that the register must be easy to use and available to workers and emergency services at any time. It may be kept electronically, provided everyone who needs it can get to a computer or similar device and knows how to use it, with a backup plan for foreseeable problems such as a power or network failure.
The register doesn’t need to include:
- chemicals not classified as hazardous
- consumer products for which an SDS isn’t required, such as a household-size detergent used the household way
- hazardous chemicals in transit that are unopened, unused and stored for five days or fewer, unless they are at the workplace in large amounts or frequently
Our guide to hazardous chemical register requirements goes through each part in more detail.
What’s in the template
The template is the same one explained in our hazardous chemical register template guide: product name, manufacturer or importer, supplier, SDS revision and last-reviewed date, the review-due date five years on, hazard class, dangerous goods class, location and where the SDS is kept. Safe Work Australia’s own template says only the chemical names are mandatory; the extra columns are good practice, not law.
Keeping it current
The list changes when products arrive or leave. The sheets change when the manufacturer revises them, and the manufacturer or importer must review each SDS at least once every five years.
- How often should a chemical register be updated?
- How long is an SDS valid?
- Chemical register audit checklist, for a quick check before an inspection
Other states
NSW and Queensland follow the same model regulation: see the NSW chemical register template and the QLD chemical register template. Victoria has its own law and calls it a register of hazardous substances: see the Victorian chemical register template.
A register that stays current by itself
A spreadsheet only stays current if someone keeps chasing sheets. SupplySafe for workshops links each product to the manufacturer’s current SDS, flags the sheets due for review and puts the whole register behind one QR poster. SupplySafe doesn’t write or edit SDS; manufacturers and suppliers publish their own, free. More on the software side: SDS management software for small Australian businesses.
More states and territories: the SA chemical register template, Tasmanian chemical register template, ACT chemical register template and NT chemical register template, or every state on one list in chemical register templates by state.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a WA-specific chemical register template?
- Western Australia doesn't require a particular form. The register needs a list of the hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace and the current SDS for each one. WorkSafe WA points businesses to Safe Work Australia's template, and the free one on this page holds the same information.
- Which law sets the chemical register rules in WA?
- Regulation 346 of the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA). Mines have the same requirement in regulation 346 of the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022.
- What is the penalty for not keeping a chemical register in WA?
- Regulation 346 of the WHS (General) Regulations sets fines of up to $7,000 for an individual and $35,000 for a body corporate for not preparing, keeping and maintaining the register, and $4,200 and $21,000 for not making it readily accessible.
Sources
- Western Australian Government, Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (regulation 346; current consolidated version, accessed 2 November 2026)
- WorkSafe WA, Hazardous chemicals register (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Safe Work Australia, Hazardous chemicals register template (accessed 2 November 2026)
This article is general information, not legal advice. It quotes and links the regulator's own wording; check the source and your state or territory regulator for anything that applies to your workplace. SupplySafe distributes Safety Data Sheets and does not author, edit or certify them. Rules change: see What's changing for dated, official updates.