How to read an SDS: a two-minute guide for workshop staff

A safety data sheet (SDS) looks long, but you don’t need to read all 16 sections before you open a tin. Five sections tell most workers what they need: what it is, how it can hurt you, first aid, how to handle and store it, and what to wear. Here’s where to find each, and what the rest of the sheet is for.

An SDS is written by the manufacturer or importer and describes a chemical’s hazards and how to use it safely. Australian SDS follow the 16-section format set out in Safe Work Australia’s Code of Practice for preparing safety data sheets, so once you know the layout you can find things quickly on any sheet.

The five sections to read first

Section 1: Identification

Check it’s the right sheet. Match the product name and supplier with the label on the container; similar-sounding products can have very different hazards. Section 1 also has the emergency phone number. Under Schedule 7 of the model WHS Regulations, an Australian SDS must include the Australian name, address and business phone number of the manufacturer or importer, and an Australian emergency number.

Section 2: Hazard identification

This is the summary of how the product can hurt you. Look for:

• the signal word: “Danger” for more severe hazards, “Warning” for less severe ones
• the pictograms: the red diamonds, such as the flame (flammable) or the exclamation mark (irritant)
• the hazard statements: short sentences like “Causes serious eye irritation”
• the precautionary statements: what to do about it, such as “Wear protective gloves”

These should match the label on the container.

Section 4: First-aid measures

What to do for each route of exposure: eyes, skin, swallowing and breathing it in. Read this before you need it. In an emergency call 000; the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 gives advice 24 hours a day.

Section 7: Handling and storage

How to use the product safely and how to store it, including what to keep it away from. This is where you’ll find advice such as keeping a flammable product away from ignition sources, or keeping acids and alkalis apart.

Section 8: Exposure controls and personal protection

The PPE section. It lists any workplace exposure standards, the ventilation needed, and the type of gloves, eye protection and respiratory protection to use. “Wear gloves” isn’t enough on its own; a good sheet names the glove material.

What’s in the other 11 sections?

You’ll need these less often, but it helps to know they’re there:

• Section 3, Composition: the ingredients and their concentrations.
• Section 5, Firefighting measures: suitable extinguishers and fire hazards.
• Section 6, Accidental release measures: how to clean up a spill.
• Section 9, Physical and chemical properties: flash point, appearance, odour and similar.
• Section 10, Stability and reactivity: what it reacts with and conditions to avoid.
• Section 11, Toxicological information: health effects in more detail.
• Section 12, Ecological information: effects on the environment.
• Section 13, Disposal considerations: how to get rid of it and its container.
• Section 14, Transport information: dangerous goods class and UN number, if any.
• Section 15, Regulatory information: other laws and listings that apply.
• Section 16, Other information: including the date the SDS was prepared or last revised.

Is my SDS current?

Check the revision date. Manufacturers must review each SDS at least every five years (regulation 330), and the workplace must hold the current version (regulation 344). If yours is older than five years, contact the supplier. Our guides on how long an SDS is valid and revision dates versus issue dates explain how to tell.

Where should the SDS be kept?

Regulation 344 requires the current SDS to be readily accessible to workers who use, handle or store the chemical, and to emergency service workers. A folder in the office that’s locked at night doesn’t meet that. A register on a phone or tablet, or a QR code at the chemical store, can.

How SupplySafe handles it

SupplySafe puts every SDS for your site one scan away from a QR code on the wall, and keeps each sheet current by linking to the version its manufacturer publishes. Staff can open the sheet on their phone at the shelf, without logging in.

To list your products and their SDS dates, use our free hazardous chemical register template, in Excel, PDF and CSV.

Frequently asked questions

What is a safety data sheet?

An SDS is a document prepared by the manufacturer or importer of a hazardous chemical. It describes the chemical's hazards and how to use, store, handle and dispose of it safely, and what to do in an emergency. Australian SDS follow a 16-section format.

Which parts of an SDS should staff read first?

Section 1 (identification and emergency phone number), section 2 (hazards), section 4 (first aid), section 7 (handling and storage) and section 8 (exposure controls and PPE) cover what most workers need day to day.

What makes an SDS Australian?

Schedule 7 of the model WHS Regulations requires an SDS to include the Australian name, address and business telephone number of the manufacturer or importer, and an Australian emergency phone number among other content.

What number do I call for a chemical poisoning?

In an emergency call 000. For poisoning advice, the Poisons Information Centre is 13 11 26, available 24 hours across Australia.

Sources

• Safe Work Australia, Model Code of Practice: Preparation of safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals (accessed 28 October 2026)
• Safe Work Australia, Model WHS Regulations (regulations 330 and 344, Schedule 7; accessed 28 October 2026)
• Safe Work Australia, Using safety data sheets (accessed 28 October 2026)
• Safe Work Australia, Labelling of workplace hazardous chemicals (accessed 28 October 2026)
• healthdirect, Poisoning (Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26; accessed 30 October 2026)