Substances exempt from the HSNO Act

Hazardous substance which are exempt or excluded from the Hazardous Substance and New Organisms (HSNO) Act do not need approval from us.

You do not need to make an application for:

substances only being used in an exempt laboratory;
radioactive material;
medicine;
food;
manufactured articles; or
infectious substances.

Exempt laboratories

Small amounts of substances imported or manufactured in New Zealand for:

scientific investigation;
teaching; or
research and development

are exempt as long as they are made or kept in laboratories meeting the requirements of the Hazardous Substances (Exempt Laboratories) Regulations.

For more information see:

Exemptions from the Provision of the HSNO Act for Small-Scale Research on Hazardous Substances (pdf, 440 kb)

Radioactive material

Radioactive substances (UN Class 7) are not included unless they are flammable, explosive, corrosive, oxidising, toxic or ecotoxic.

Food

Ready-to-eat food is not covered by the HSNO Act. Food additives are and require approval.

Medicine

Medicines are covered by MedSafe. However, ingredients used to manufacture the medicines are covered by the HSNO Act.

Manufactured articles

Manufactured articles containing hazardous substances (with properties other than explosives) don’t need approval. For example, a battery does not require approval. Products such as glues, paints or pesticides do.

The difference is that a manufactured article is something for which its intended use is mainly to do with its design or physical shape, rather than its chemical composition.

For further information, see our information sheet on manufactured articles:

Manufactured Articles (pdf, 437 kb)