I regularly work with skincare and beauty companies based outside Australia who are looking to expand into the Australian market, so I’ve written this article to give you an overview of what’s required and how I can help.
Overall, there are fewer regulatory requirements for cosmetics in Australia than in some markets, particularly the UK/EU, but there are some unique requirements that overseas brands need to be aware of.
Below I’ll cover the common misconceptions I see in client enquiries, then walk through the key areas you’ll need to think about before importing, including:
- Australian cosmetic regulations and laws to know
- Cosmetic vs therapeutic good classification in Australia
- AICIS registration and other registration requirements
- Cosmetic ingredient compliance
- Cosmetic labelling and claims in the Australian market
- Importing process, customs and duties
Want a printable summary? The free cheat sheet has the key points on one page.
Common misconceptions about importing cosmetics into Australia
A lot of enquiries I get from overseas brands come with assumptions from other markets (or AI tools), so let’s clear these up first.
Do I need to register or notify my products with an Australian regulator?
No – there is no product registration or notification scheme for cosmetics in Australia. No equivalent of the EU’s CPNP or China’s NMPA filing. You don’t need to submit your products to any regulator before you sell them.
The entity responsible for importing, which could be a brand or its distributor, will need to register the business as an introducer of industrial chemicals with AICIS, which I’ll cover later in the article.
Is there a list of approved or permitted cosmetic ingredients in Australia?
No – there is no list of all the approved or permitted ingredients that can be used in cosmetics sold in Australia. The Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals (the AICIS Inventory) is a list of chemicals already available for use in Australia, but if a cosmetic ingredient isn’t on the Inventory, it doesn’t usually mean it can’t be imported at all. It just needs to have gone through the risk-based AICIS categorisation process first.
Is there a list of banned ingredients for cosmetics in Australia?
No – there is no single list of banned cosmetic ingredients like the EU’s Annex II or the US’s prohibited ingredients list. The closest equivalent in Australia is the Poisons Standard, which schedules certain substances and either restricts or prohibits their use in cosmetics.
Do I need a Responsible Person or local representative in Australia?
There is no equivalent of the EU or US Responsible Person in Australia, and typically the brand, the importer, or both would be responsible for a product’s safety, labelling and claims.
When it comes to AICIS obligations, you can use an Australian-based distributor or appoint an Australian agent to act on your behalf where you don’t have a local entity or can’t or don’t want to obtain an ARBN for your foreign entity. But this covers AICIS obligations only, not broader product responsibility.
Do I need a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) or Product Information File (PIF) before selling in Australia?
No – Australia doesn’t require a CPSR, PIF or any specific safety documentation format before products are sold. Safety obligations under the Australian Consumer Law still apply – you need to be able to show your products are safe if asked – but the format is not prescribed.
My products are legal in the UK/EU, so it should be easy to import into Australia, right?
Not necessarily. Labelling and claims are usually relatively straightforward – there may be minor labelling differences, but claims principles are similar across a lot of markets.
Ingredients are where overseas brands tend to get caught out. Just because an ingredient is fine to use overseas doesn’t mean it’s automatically compliant in Australia. The Poisons Standard and AICIS Inventory need to be checked for each ingredient. And if anything isn’t on the Inventory, working through the categorisation process (e.g. chasing SDSs, import volumes and other supplier documentation) can take longer than expected.
There’s also the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS) to keep an eye on – a developing framework that’s gradually adding environmental restrictions on certain high-risk chemicals (PFAS being a recent example).
Now that we’ve cleared up some of the common misconceptions, let’s look at the key areas you’ll need to work through before importing your products into Australia.
What Australian regulations apply to imported cosmetics?
There is no single regulator for cosmetics or ‘Cosmetics Act’ in Australia.
Cosmetic obligations sit across multiple laws, regulations and regulators, including (but not limited to):
- Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) – nearly all ingredients found in imported cosmetic products are considered ‘industrial chemicals’, and there are obligations around registration, ingredient categorisation, recordkeeping and annual reporting. AICIS also regulates the definition of a ‘cosmetic’.
- Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – which oversees ‘therapeutic goods’ (the Australian term for what’s often called drugs or medicines in overseas markets) and the Poisons Standard (also known as the SUSMP), and determines what are ‘excluded goods’ (certain types of products at the cosmetic-therapeutic interface that aren’t regulated as therapeutic goods)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – which administers the Australian Consumer Law covering product safety, claims and cosmetic labelling regulations
- National Measurement Institute (NMI) – which regulates trade measurement laws that also include some labelling requirements
Although Australia doesn’t require any pre-market safety assessments, under the Australian Consumer Law, products must be safe for consumers to use.
Will my product be regulated as a cosmetic in Australia?
Before any other compliance work, the first step is to confirm your product is regulated as a cosmetic in Australia, not a therapeutic good. Cosmetic products generally relate to visible effects rather than medical outcomes or physiological changes to the body, but the classification depends on more than what the product does. The TGA looks at the product category, what it’s designed to do, the ingredients, the claims and the overall impression the product creates.
Classification doesn’t carry across from other markets. A product sold as a cosmetic overseas isn’t automatically a cosmetic here, and it works the other way too. Some anti-acne products that are drugs in other markets can be sold as cosmetics in Australia when presented in certain ways. The same applies to certain types of sunscreen, so you need to understand where the boundary sits.
There’s also no in-between category like Korea’s functional cosmetics, Japan’s quasi-drugs or China’s special use cosmetics. A product is either a cosmetic or a therapeutic good.
If you’re not sure which side of the line your product falls on, I’ve covered this in detail in Cosmetic or therapeutic good? What pushes a product over the TGA line.
What registrations are required for cosmetic importers?
The business responsible for importing cosmetic products into Australia is classified by AICIS as the ‘introducer’, which is the entity that needs to register and comply with all AICIS obligations. Whether that’s the overseas brand directly or an Australian distributor importing on their behalf will often depend on commercial arrangements and who is listed on customs documentation, and registration must occur before any products are imported.
AICIS has fined companies for importing without being registered, including a fragrance distributor ($37,560) and a cosmetics distributor ($16,500) – so whether you’re importing directly or relying on a distributor to handle AICIS for you, make sure registration is in place before you ship.
One exception: if you sell directly to Australian customers from an overseas website, with orders shipped from overseas, AICIS registration isn’t required because the consumer is importing the product (and personal use is exempt).
Other registrations may apply depending on your setup, e.g. ASIC and the ABR if you’re setting up an Australian entity, the TGA if your products are actually therapeutic goods, not cosmetics, and the APVMA if you’re importing insect repellent.
How do I ensure my cosmetic ingredients are compliant in Australia?
Every ingredient in your formulas needs to be checked against the AICIS Inventory (where you’re the ‘introducer’) and the Poisons Standard.
The Inventory is the list of industrial chemicals already available for use in Australia. Each ingredient needs to be checked to see whether it’s listed and whether any restrictions or other terms apply. If an ingredient isn’t listed, it’s usually not a dealbreaker, but it’ll need to be further assessed to work out its categorisation. Most cosmetic ingredients end up being classified as ‘Exempted’ or ‘Reported’, which then impacts reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Importantly, this must be done before a product is imported.
Many cosmetic ingredients can be found on the Poisons Standard, which classifies substances based on risk and specifies risk-reduction measures where appropriate. Depending on the ingredient and its concentration in a formulation, warning statements and other poisons labelling may be required on the label – or an ingredient may not be permitted in a cosmetic product at all.
AICIS categorisation is complex and tedious, and interpreting the Poisons Standard can be confusing – which is why most overseas brands work with a cosmetic regulatory consultant to get this right before importing.
How do I ensure my cosmetic labels and claims are compliant in Australia?
Label content and format tend to be similar across many jurisdictions, and Australia’s labelling laws are less strict than markets like the UK/EU, e.g. either the INCI name or English name is permitted on an ingredient listing, and batch numbers and Period After Opening symbols are not legally required.
But some things are specific to Australia – particularly requirements around the measurement marking (weight/volume), which is such a small part of the label but one where I find a lot of non-compliance.
When reviewing labels and packaging for clients, I check that all the legally required information in Australia is included, and that it’s in the right format, position and size.
From a claims perspective, whether it’s on a label, website or social media, I’m looking at whether they are:
- Cosmetic, not therapeutic
- Clear and not misleading, even unintentionally, e.g. there’s no greenwashing, and that any foreign language translations still have the right meaning
Working with a cosmetic regulatory consultant is the most reliable way to ensure your labels and claims are compliant before importing.
What other processes and costs are involved in importing cosmetics?
Most finished cosmetic products don’t need a specific import permit or documentation, but there are some important exceptions to be aware of:
- Dangerous goods (e.g. high-alcohol perfumes, hand sanitisers)
- Products with significant animal-derived content (biosecurity considerations under BICON)
- Ingredients sourced from CITES-listed species (e.g. caviar and other protected species)
In terms of costs, imported cosmetics can attract GST, customs duty and other taxes or fees depending on their value and the trade agreements that apply.
Engage a customs broker or freight forwarder early to help you work out what applies to your specific products. They’ll be able to handle the paperwork, sort out the duty and GST and reduce the risk of products being held at the border.
Engage an Australian accountant and lawyer to help with tax and business structure considerations.
Want the cheat sheet?
Get the quick reference guide for overseas skincare and beauty brands looking to sell in Australia – what’s required, what’s not and the key checks to do before you import.
How we can help you
For overseas brands importing cosmetics into Australia, we usually help with one or more of the following:
- Label Review – reviewing your labels against Australian regulations
- Claims Review – making sure your website, social and marketing claims comply with Australian laws and regulations
- Ingredients Checks – checking your ingredients against the Inventory and the Poisons Standard
- Regulatory Risk Assessment – assessing the compliance risk of a decision before you commit, e.g. whether a sunscreen you want to import is a cosmetic or therapeutic good
What we don’t help with:
- Acting as an AICIS agent if you don’t have an Australian distributor, ARBN or other local entity
- Tax or GST advice – speak to an Australian-based accountant
- Customs processes, biosecurity permits and CITES permits – speak to a customs broker or freight forwarder
- Legal advice on business or trade mark registration – speak to an Australian business lawyer or trade mark attorney
You can see all our regulatory consulting services here.
To explore working together, the first step is to complete a Compliance Project Brief.
Jen has worked with Australian and international skincare and beauty brands on regulatory compliance since 2018, drawing on a background in corporate risk and compliance and degrees in Business and Psychology. Jen speaks regularly on cosmetic regulation, including at the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists (ASCC), the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NZSCC), in-cosmetics Korea, and Monash University.
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