Australia Begins Public Consultation on Draft Evaluation Statement on the Use and Introduction of PFAS

On October 21, 2026, the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) announced that it has completed a draft evaluation statement on the industrial use and importation or manufacture (introduction) of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australia. The draft evaluation statement identifies which of the 522 PFAS on the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals (Inventory) were introduced into Australia, the identified uses, and the volume introduced. AICIS notes that the draft evaluation does not assess the human health and environmental impacts of PFAS. AICIS will use the information obtained to prioritize future evaluation work, including assessment of their risks. Comments on the draft evaluation statement are due December 2, 2026.

There are currently 522 PFAS listed on the Inventory that could be introduced by businesses registered with AICIS. According to AICIS, there was limited information about which of these PFAS are imported or manufactured in Australia and their uses. In October 2025, AICIS announced that it sent notices to AICIS-registered businesses requiring them to report the introduction between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2025, of any of the 522 PFAS. If the business introduced any of the PFAS, the following information was required:

• The volume of PFAS introduced; and

• What the PFAS were used for.

AICIS analyzed the information provided by businesses to create a snapshot of which PFAS are in use in Australia. The draft evaluation statement describes the results. AICIS notes that it did not require businesses to provide information about PFAS present in finished articles or as an impurity because these introductions are excluded from the categorization requirements.

According to AICIS, it found that most PFAS on the Inventory were not introduced in Australia. Of those introduced, none were manufactured in Australia. Of the 522 PFAS, 139 were reported to be introduced, with 91 for a variety of public and industry uses, and 48 introduced exclusively for research and development (R&D) applications. The remaining 383 listed PFAS were not reported to be introduced during the two-year reporting period. The three most frequently reported end-use categories were:

• Lubricant and grease products;

• Paint and coating products; and

• Adhesive and sealant products.

After analyzing the data on PFAS introductions, AICIS proposes to:

• Begin an evaluation of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) that will consider the risks to human health and the environment. AICIS states that “[t]his is because TFA is a common breakdown product of many other PFAS, including some introduced in high volumes.”

• Add or amend specific information requirements for certain PFAS on the Inventory, requiring businesses to notify AICIS before introducing one of these PFAS for a purpose other than R&D.

• Use the information reported to AICIS by businesses alongside other evidence to prioritize further PFAS evaluation work.

Next Steps

According to the draft evaluation statement, the information collected will provide an evidence base for AICIS to prioritize the listed PFAS for further evaluation, including risk assessment. Focusing on the 91 listed PFAS reported to be used by industry or the public, AICIS will integrate the findings of this evaluation with other data to inform prioritization, including information on:

• Toxicity and ecotoxicity;

• Toxicokinetics, including bioavailability;

• Environmental fate, including degradation pathways; and

• Current or proposed risk management.

The draft evaluation statement notes that 61 of the 91 PFAS reported for industry and/or public end uses have previously been assessed under AICIS and/or the former industrial chemical regulation scheme, National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). For these chemicals, AICIS will consider the previous assessment conclusions in the context of any available new information to determine if further risk assessment is required to inform whether risk management remains appropriate.

For the 25 unassessed, listed PFAS identified as having industry and/or public end uses, AICIS will prioritize evaluations of these PFAS alongside other chemicals being considered for evaluation. The first evaluation proposed is TFA “as it is a common degradant of many other PFAS, including PFAS reported with high introduction volumes.” According to the draft evaluation statement, this will strengthen the evidence base for future risk assessments and potential risk management recommendations. AICIS will prioritize future evaluations to focus on higher concern PFAS, “drawing on exposure information from this evaluation.”

The evaluation identified 383 listed PFAS that were not reported to be introduced into Australia with a further 48 introduced only for R&D purposes. AICIS does not expect these PFAS to require evaluation “as they are unlikely to be . . . introduced into Australia except for R&D in small quantities.” The draft evaluation statement notes that these PFAS remain on the Inventory and may be introduced by registered introducers without informing AICIS provided they comply with any relevant terms of listing. To ensure that any future introduction of these 431 chemicals, other than for R&D purposes, is identified to enable appropriate risk management, AICIS proposes a variation of the terms of the Inventory listing for these chemicals under Section 86 of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (IC Act) to add or amend the specific requirement to provide information.

Commentary

The summary of end uses reported reflects the ubiquity of PFAS. The highest reported end uses, with more than 20 introduction reports, were lubricant and grease products; paint and coating products; adhesive and sealant products; plastic and polymer products; personal care products (cosmetics); refrigerant gases; ink, toner, and colorant products; cleaning and furniture care products; and automotive care products. The introduction reports were for both industry and public end use except for personal care products (cosmetics), which were all reported as public end use. According to the draft evaluation statement, all other end uses had less than 20 introduction reports.

Stakeholders should review the 522 listed PFAS and the uses reported as summarized in AICIS’s draft evaluation statement and ensure that their uses of the listed PFAS were reported and summarized correctly. Plans to commercialize any of the PFAS reported only for R&D uses may need to be reconsidered if AICIS adds specific information requirements requiring notification to AICIS before the PFAS is introduced for a purpose other than R&D.

It is noteworthy that the federal reporting requirement in the United States under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 2019 and yet the submission period has been postponed repeatedly. Since then, Minnesota and New Mexico have enacted broad reporting requirements, with reports due September 15, 2026, in Minnesota and January 1, 2027, in New Mexico. Connecticut enacted a narrower reporting requirement for only certain consumer product categories with reports due July 1, 2026. These state reporting requirements are for products currently on the market. Looking beyond the United States, Canada issued a Section 71 notice requiring reporting on 312 PFAS for calendar year 2023, with reports due January 29, 2025. Meanwhile, under TSCA Section 8(a)(7), reports will be required from manufacturers (including importers) of PFAS and PFAS-containing articles in any year since 2011 through 2022. Congress amended TSCA to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to obtain this information, yet the information that will be reported to EPA is increasingly obsolete.