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Hazardous Substances Strategy

The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, when it came into force for hazardous substances in July 2001, represented an innovative way of regulating these substances. However, because it was a new approach, there have been some areas where it has not been working as well as it should.

As a result, a work programme was introduced to improve the way the Act operates for hazardous substances and in July 2003 the Minister for the Environment announced the government’s strategy for implementing the necessary changes.

The Hazardous Substances Strategy outlines a series of legislative and other changes that will reduce the cost of complying with HSNO without compromising public safety and the environment.

The Strategy simplifies the transfer process for existing substances that must be formally brought under the HSNO Act. Other changes include reducing the costs of applying for new substances and improving the compliance with, and enforcement of, the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996.

Implementation of the Hazardous Substances Strategy

An amendment bill, the HSNO (transitional provisions and controls) Amendment Bill passed into law in March. The amendments make it easier for ERMA to set appropriate controls for existing hazardous substances and speed up the transfer of existing hazardous substances from various older pieces of legislation to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act regime. For more information, see the Regulatory Impact Statement.

The first group of hazardous substances to be transferred was explosives, which were brought under the HSNO regime last August. Dangerous goods such as petrol and solvents were transferred on 1 April 2004. The latest group of substances to be transferred is pesticides. They were transferred on 1 July 2004. To find out more about the timetable for transferring pesticides, visit the ERMA website.

The Strategy also required new regulations and amendments to regulations for compressed gases and tank wagons. Work on these is now complete. The compressed gas regulations will replace the controls currently provided by the Dangerous Goods (Class 2-gases) regulations. They control compressed gases through the design and management of portable containers and their fittings. They also require the use of approved fillers, identification and emergency management. The tank wagon regulations cover the transfer of bulk liquid and gaseous substances by both road and rail and will apply to all tank wagons manufactured after the commencement of the regulations. Existing tank wagons will continue to operate under the requirements in place at the time they were constructed, subject to regular in-service testing.

In other developments, extra funding has been provided to ERMA to improve the capacity of the agencies that enforce the HSNO Act and to reduce application fees for the import or manufacture of new hazardous substances.

Hazardous substances discussion paper

Some of the changes outlined under the Hazardous Substances Strategy require longer term changes to improve the workability of the HSNO Act. Submissions on a discussion paper on these proposals closed on Friday 11 June 2004.

The Cabinet paper briefing ministers on the discussion paper and seeking their approval for its release and the minute recording the Cabinet decision are also available.

Last updated: 17 September 2007