Who regulates a cosmetic in Australia
Four bodies touch a cosmetic pack, and none of them is a single cosmetics regulator.
| Body | What it governs on the pack |
|---|---|
| AICIS (Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme) | The ingredients. Every chemical in a cosmetic must be introduced under AICIS: on the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals or introduced under an exemption, reporting or assessment category. The importer or manufacturer must be registered. AICIS does not approve labels but it decides what can be in the bottle. |
| ACCC (Australian Consumer Law) | The Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020, which mandates the ingredient list, and the general law against misleading or deceptive conduct, which governs every claim. |
| NMI (National Measurement Institute) | The net quantity statement: metric units, position, minimum character heights for the pack size, and the average quantity system. |
| TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) | Anything that is a therapeutic good rather than a cosmetic: primary sunscreens, secondary sunscreens over SPF 15, and products with therapeutic claims or scheduled ingredients. |
State poisons schedules (the SUSMP) add a layer for some ingredients, and the Australian Packaging Covenant (APCO) and the Australasian Recycling Label are the voluntary-but-expected layer for the retailers.
The ingredient list: the one mandatory standard
The Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020 is a mandatory information standard under the Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC summarises it as follows.
- Ingredient information must be available to the consumer at the point of sale, listed on the container, or on the product if there is no container. Where the container's size, shape or nature prevents that, the information must be prominently displayed alongside the product.
- Ingredients are listed in descending order by mass or volume. Alternatively: ingredients (except colour additives) at 1 percent or more in descending order, then ingredients under 1 percent in any order, then colour additives in any order.
- Quantities and percentages are not required, except the alcohol percentage on hand sanitiser.
- Excluded: therapeutic goods, hand sanitisers excluded under the TGA's determination, cosmetics made in Australia for export, free samples, and testers.
The Standard does not mandate INCI nomenclature but the industry uses it, retailers expect it, and it is the only naming system that produces a consistent, auditable list. Use INCI names, and where a common name helps the shopper (Aqua (Water), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter) put it in brackets. Fragrance can be listed as Parfum or Fragrance; the EU's allergen declaration rules do not apply in Australia but exporters should assume they will be asked for them.
Hand sanitiser
Alcohol-based hand sanitiser sold as a cosmetic must show the alcohol content as a percentage v/v and carry these warnings in words or pictograms: Keep out of reach of children; For external use only; If ingested, seek immediate medical attention; Flammable, keep away from fire and heat; Discontinue use if skin irritation occurs. Sanitisers that make therapeutic claims (kills 99.9 percent of germs, prevents infection) are therapeutic goods unless they meet the TGA's excluded goods determination.
Everything else the pack must carry
| Element | Rule |
|---|---|
| Net quantity | Trade measurement law: metric units (g, mL), on the principal display panel, in the NMI's minimum character heights for the pack size (2 mm up to 50 g or mL, scaling to 4.8 mm over 1 kg or L), not obscured. Sold by weight or volume consistently across the range. |
| Supplier identification | Name and Australian address (or importer's) so the responsible entity can be found. Retailers require it; the ACL expects it. |
| Directions and warnings | No single standard, but under the ACL and product safety law the supplier must warn of foreseeable risks: patch test, avoid eyes, discontinue if irritation occurs, external use only, do not use on broken skin. Scheduled ingredients carry SUSMP-mandated warnings. |
| Batch code | Not mandated for cosmetics but universal: recalls and complaints are traced by it, and every retailer asks. |
| Period after opening / expiry | Not mandated in Australia. The open-jar PAO symbol is an EU convention widely used here; a best-before is required only where a product's safety depends on it. |
| Country of origin | Not mandatory for cosmetics (the mandatory standard is for food), but any origin claim made must be true under the ACL's safe-harbour tests: made in, product of, packed in. |
| Barcode | GS1 GTIN in EAN-13 for every retailer, Chemist Warehouse and Priceline included; see the barcode guide. |
| Recycling label | The Australasian Recycling Label is voluntary but expected by the grocery retailers and increasingly by pharmacy and beauty chains. |
The therapeutic line: when a cosmetic becomes a medicine
The TGA regulates by purpose and claim, not by format. The common tipping points for beauty brands:
- Sunscreen. Primary sunscreens (products whose main purpose is UV protection) are therapeutic goods and must be on the ARTG, with TGA labelling, SPF and broad-spectrum testing to AS/NZS 2604. Secondary sunscreens are excluded only within limits: moisturisers with SPF 15 or less in packs of 300 g or 300 mL or less, and sunbathing products with SPF 4 to 15 in the same pack limit. A moisturiser at SPF 30 is a medicine.
- Anti-acne, anti-dandruff, anti-fungal and similar: treating a condition is therapeutic. Cosmetic acne products can talk about blemishes and oil; a product that treats acne is listed or registered.
- Antiperspirants. Cosmetic in most cases; some actives and claims (clinical strength, treats hyperhidrosis) move them.
- Skin lightening, hair regrowth, wrinkle treatment with pharmacological action: therapeutic.
- Oral care. Toothpaste with fluoride up to the cosmetic limit is a cosmetic; above that, or with a therapeutic claim, it is a medicine.
The consequence for the pack is total: a therapeutic good needs an AUST L or AUST R number, a TGA-compliant main label with active ingredients, RASML warnings, batch and expiry with prefixes, and the full non-prescription labelling standard (TGO 92, now TGO 116). The supplement labelling guide covers that regime. Decide which side of the line a product sits on before any artwork.
Claims: what the ACCC acts on
The front of a beauty pack is a list of representations, and the ACCC's enforcement history in the category is long. The claims that need substantiation on file before they go to print:
- Organic and certified organic. Organic has no mandatory standard for cosmetics in Australia, but the ACCC has pursued brands using the word on products with little organic content. Certified claims must name the certifier and meet its rules.
- Natural, plant-based, clean, non-toxic, chemical-free. Undefined and heavily used. Chemical-free is literally false; non-toxic implies a safety comparison that cannot be made. Say what is true: 98 percent naturally derived ingredients, with the basis.
- Free from. Paraben-free, sulphate-free, cruelty-free. Permitted if true; cruelty-free in particular should be backed by a certification or a verifiable policy covering the supply chain.
- Dermatologically tested, clinically proven, hypoallergenic. Tested means tested; proven means a study exists that supports the specific claim. Hypoallergenic has no legal definition and should be backed by evidence.
- Anti-ageing, reduces wrinkles, firms. Cosmetic claims about appearance are fine; claims about changing the structure or function of the skin are therapeutic.
- Made in Australia. Must meet the ACL safe harbour: last substantial transformation here. Filled here from imported bulk is not made here.
- Before-and-after imagery and percentages (87 percent saw smoother skin) need the study, its sample and its conditions on file.
Formats and the artwork problems they bring
| Format | Constraint |
|---|---|
| Jar | Lid is the hero face; ingredient list and net quantity go on the base label or the side wall. A 50 mL jar has room for an INCI list only at small type; check NMI heights for the net quantity. |
| Tube | Crimp end and curved surface. Keep the barcode and net quantity off the crimp zone and the ingredient list within the printable area; tubes are often printed before filling and before the crimp. |
| Bottle with pump or dropper | Label area is limited by the shoulder and the pump collar. Wrap labels need an overlap allowance; clear labels on clear bottles need a white underprint for legibility. |
| Carton | Carries the brand story and repeats the mandatory information, but the ingredient list must still be on the container inside. |
| Sachet and mini | Often too small for the full list; the Standard allows prominent display alongside, which in practice means a shelf card or outer. Confirm with the retailer. |
| Set or gift pack | Each component is a product; each needs its ingredients on its container, and the outer needs the net quantity of each. |
What gets a beauty pack rejected
- Ingredient list on the carton only, or missing from a mini or set component.
- Ingredients not in descending order, or colour additives in the wrong place in the 1 percent format.
- Net quantity in imperial, below the NMI character height, or hidden on the base.
- No supplier name and address.
- An SPF over 15 on a product labelled as a cosmetic, or SPF claims with no AS/NZS 2604 test.
- Therapeutic claims (treats, heals, cures, prevents) on a cosmetic.
- Organic, natural or free-from claims without substantiation, or chemical-free on anything.
- Made in Australia on a product filled from imported bulk.
- Hand sanitiser without the alcohol percentage and the five warnings.
- A barcode on a curved tube shoulder or a clear bottle with no white underprint.
Questions people ask
No pre-market approval. The ingredients must be introduced under AICIS and the business registered with it, the label must meet the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020 and trade measurement law, and every claim must comply with the Australian Consumer Law. Therapeutic products (primary sunscreens, anything treating a condition) are different and need ARTG listing.
Yes. The Information Standard requires the full ingredient list on the container (or the product if there is no container), in descending order by mass or volume, or using the 1 percent format with colour additives last. Percentages are not required except alcohol in hand sanitiser.
A moisturiser with SPF 15 or less in a pack of 300 g or mL or less is an excluded cosmetic. Over SPF 15, or any primary sunscreen, is a therapeutic good regulated by the TGA and must be on the ARTG.
The Standard does not mandate INCI, but retailers expect it and it is the only consistent naming system. Use INCI with common names in brackets where helpful.
Not by law. A batch code is universal practice for recalls, and a period-after-opening symbol or best-before is common. Products whose safety depends on age (some preservative-free formulations) should carry one.
Only if you can substantiate it. Neither term has a mandatory definition for cosmetics in Australia, and the ACCC has acted against products using organic with little organic content. State the basis (percentage naturally derived, the certifier) rather than the adjective alone.
Sources
- Cosmetics ingredients labelling mandatory standard, ACCC Product Safety
- Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020, Federal Register of Legislation
- Sunscreen regulation in Australia, TGA
- Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS)
- Country of origin claims, ACCC
- Guide to the Sale of Pre-packaged Goods, National Measurement Institute
Published . Last reviewed . Next scheduled review . Regulatory content is re-checked against the primary sources above at each review. See our editorial standards.
