Hazardous Chemicals Register + SDS Template
Ready-to-fill Hazardous Chemicals Register template and guide for meeting the s.346 register and s.344 SDS duties. Covers the register columns, SDS management and placard/manifest thresholds. Queensland coverage, CIH-reviewed editable DOCX, available as an instant download.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
A hazardous chemicals register is the master list a workplace keeps of every hazardous chemical used, handled or stored on site, held together with a current Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for each product. Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), s.346 requires a PCBU to prepare and maintain a register of hazardous chemicals, keep it up to date and make it readily accessible to any worker involved in using, handling or storing those chemicals, while s.344 requires the current manufacturer or importer SDS to be obtained and kept, and made readily accessible, for each hazardous chemical. The register lists each product by name and links to its SDS, records its Globally Harmonised System (GHS) hazard classification, the quantity held and where it is stored — giving a single source of truth for workers, emergency responders and auditors. It underpins correct labelling under s.341, safe segregation of incompatible goods, and awareness of when on-site quantities reach the manifest and placarding thresholds in Schedule 11 that trigger the s.347 manifest duty. A register kept current, GHS-classified and paired with in-date SDS is the foundation of hazardous chemical compliance in a Queensland workplace.
Hazards identified
6 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Workers exposed to acute toxicity, burns or inhalation injury with no reliable first-aid or emergency information, and a direct breach of the s.344 SDS duty
Uncontrolled reaction, fire, toxic gas evolution or violent decomposition causing serious injury and property damage
No manifest or outer-warning placards for emergency services, a breach of the s.347 manifest duty and a delayed or unsafe emergency response
Workers apply wrong PPE, storage or first-aid controls based on obsolete data, leading to preventable overexposure or injury
Accidental mixing, wrong use or ingestion of an unidentified hazardous chemical, a breach of the s.341 labelling duty and no traceability in an incident
Responders enter blind to the chemical inventory, escalating fire, explosion and toxic-exposure risk to workers and responders alike
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Remove redundant, expired and duplicate stock from the workplace so it never enters or clutters the register, reducing both the on-site inventory and the SDS burden to only chemicals genuinely in use.
- 2Substitution — Where a product is highly hazardous, substitute a lower-hazard alternative and update the register and its SDS accordingly, so the register drives a lower overall hazard profile over time.
- 3Isolation — Use the register's GHS classification for each product to plan and maintain compatible storage, segregating incompatible classes such as oxidisers, flammables, acids and bases into separate, bunded or isolated storage areas.
- 4Engineering — Store the register and its SDS collection so they are readily accessible at the point of use — a controlled folder at the storage area or a shared read-only electronic index — and provide compliant labelling and signage keyed to the register entries.
- 5Administrative — Keep the register current: add every new chemical on receipt, remove products no longer held, and record product name, GHS hazard class, quantity and storage location for each entry as required by s.346.
- 6Administrative — Obtain the current manufacturer or importer SDS for every hazardous chemical before or on first supply as required by s.344, verify each SDS is no more than five years old, and request a replacement from the supplier for any SDS that is older or superseded.
- 7Administrative — Total on-site quantities against the Schedule 11 manifest and placarding thresholds, and where a threshold is reached prepare the s.347 manifest, install outer-warning placards and notify the regulator as required.
- 8PPE — Use the PPE specified in each product's SDS as recorded against its register entry when handling, decanting or cleaning up that chemical, so protective equipment always matches the current hazard information.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Imposes the PCBU duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers, including the safe use, handling and storage of hazardous chemicals that the register and SDS system exist to support.
Sets the specific duties this product is built to satisfy — maintaining a current, accessible register (s.346), obtaining and keeping accessible a current SDS for each chemical (s.344), preparing a manifest and placarding at Schedule 11 quantities (s.347), and labelling containers including decanted product (s.341).
Provides the approved practical guidance on preparing and maintaining the register, obtaining and managing SDS, classifying under GHS, and controlling storage and handling risks that duty holders apply to meet their Chapter 7 obligations in Queensland.
Defines the GHS classification and container labelling used to record each product's hazard class on the register and to keep decanted and workplace containers correctly labelled under s.341.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Keeping a hazardous chemicals register is not high-risk construction work, so it is not connected to the SWMS regime. It is instead a mandatory standing duty in its own right. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s.346 requires a PCBU to prepare, maintain and keep readily accessible a register of the hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace, and s.344 requires the current manufacturer or importer Safety Data Sheet to be obtained and kept readily accessible for each of those chemicals. Where on-site quantities reach the placard or manifest thresholds in Schedule 11, s.347 additionally requires a manifest to be prepared and provided to the regulator and emergency services, and outer-warning placards to be displayed. These duties are backed by the primary duty of care under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld). Penalties for failing to comply with these duties are substantial and indexed under the WHS Act, and are enforced by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
Who this is for
- →PCBUs and site managers responsible for hazardous chemical compliance
- →Warehouse, store and workshop staff handling and storing chemicals
- →WHS coordinators maintaining the register and SDS library
- →Laboratory, cleaning and maintenance teams decanting and using chemicals
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX register template — columns for product/chemical name, manufacturer/supplier, GHS hazard class, quantity, storage location, SDS on file (Y/N) and SDS date
- ✓Step-by-step instructions for building, populating and maintaining the register and SDS library
- ✓Queensland WHS legislation guide (WHS Act & Regulation 2011, Qld) covering the s.346 register, s.344 SDS and s.347 manifest duties
- ✓GHS classification and labelling reference plus SDS currency (five-year) and quantity-threshold checks
Worked example
At a Brisbane manufacturing site, a WHS coordinator sets up the hazardous chemicals register using this template ahead of a client audit. She walks each storage area — the flammables cabinet, the acid store, the cleaning cupboard and the workshop bench — and records every product by name, manufacturer, GHS hazard class, quantity and storage location in the register columns. For each product she checks the SDS on file: three are missing entirely and two are dated more than five years ago, so she emails the suppliers to obtain the current SDS and marks those rows 'SDS on file — N' until they arrive. Reviewing the GHS classes she records, she finds a drum of an oxidiser shelved beside flammable solvents; the register's classification makes the incompatibility obvious, so the oxidiser is relocated to a segregated bunded area. She then totals the quantities of each dangerous-goods class against the Schedule 11 thresholds and confirms the site sits below the manifest quantity, documenting the calculation so the position is defensible if stock increases. A worker reports an unlabelled squeeze bottle of decanted degreaser at the bench; it is added to the register, labelled to GHS with the product identifier and hazard pictograms, and cross-referenced to the parent SDS. The completed register and SDS index are placed in a controlled folder at each storage area and mirrored on the shared drive so any worker — and emergency responders — can find current information fast. When the missing SDS arrive, she updates the rows to 'SDS on file — Y' with the issue date, closing out the audit action.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
- Managing risks of hazardous chemicals in the workplace Code of Practice 2021 (Qld)
Frequently asked questions
Am I legally required to keep a hazardous chemicals register?
Yes. Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s.346, a PCBU must prepare and maintain a register of the hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace, keep it up to date and make it readily accessible to any worker involved with those chemicals. The register must list each hazardous chemical and be accompanied by the current Safety Data Sheet for each product as required by s.344. This duty applies wherever hazardous chemicals are present, from a small workshop to a large warehouse, and is enforced by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
What must the register contain?
At a minimum the register must include a list of each hazardous chemical used, handled or stored at the workplace and the current Safety Data Sheet for each. In practice a workable register also records, for every product, the manufacturer or supplier, its GHS hazard classification, the quantity held, the storage location, and whether a current SDS is on file with its issue date. Capturing quantity and location lets you segregate incompatible chemicals correctly and check your totals against the Schedule 11 manifest and placarding thresholds. The template supplied includes each of these columns ready to fill.
How current does each Safety Data Sheet have to be?
Section 344 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) requires the current SDS prepared by the manufacturer or importer to be obtained on or before first supply and kept readily accessible to workers. An SDS must be reviewed and reissued by the manufacturer or importer at least every five years, so any SDS on your register that is more than five years old should be treated as out of date — request a current version from the supplier and replace it. Relying on a superseded SDS risks applying wrong classification, exposure standards or emergency controls.
When do I need a manifest or placards in addition to the register?
The register is always required where hazardous chemicals are present. A manifest and outer-warning placards become an additional duty under s.347 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) once the quantity of a class of hazardous chemical on site reaches the manifest or placard threshold set out in Schedule 11. That is why the register records quantities — totalling them against the Schedule 11 thresholds tells you whether the manifest and placarding duties are triggered, whether you must notify the regulator, and what emergency services need to be given on arrival.
How do I set this register up for my workplace?
Walk each storage and use area and record every hazardous chemical by name, manufacturer, GHS hazard class, quantity and location in the register columns. For each product, confirm a current SDS is on file, obtain any that are missing from the supplier, and flag and replace any SDS older than five years. Use the recorded GHS classes to check that incompatible chemicals are segregated, and total your quantities against the Schedule 11 thresholds to confirm whether the manifest and placarding duties apply. Keep the register and SDS readily accessible at the point of use, and update it whenever a chemical is added or removed.