Victoria’s new dangerous goods legislation - Frequently asked questions

Changes are being made to modernise and strengthen Victoria’s dangerous goods legislation.

Significant proposed changes to dangerous goods legislation have passed parliament. These changes:

• amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) to include regulation of the handling of dangerous goods, including explosives and security sensitive ammonium nitrate
• created a new Dangerous Goods Transport Act 2026 (DG Transport Act), for the transport of dangerous goods, including explosives and high consequence dangerous goods, by road, rail or a vessel on inland water.

The changes to Victoria’s dangerous goods legislation are planned to commence in April 2028, to give duty holders and industry time to prepare.

Until then, the current obligations under the Dangerous Goods Act 1985 (DG Act) and associated regulations still apply.

The amendments to the OHS Act and the new DG Transport Act will simplify Victoria’s dangerous goods framework, bring Victoria more in line with other jurisdictions and make it easier for industry and businesses to understand and meet their obligations.

The changes will also improve safety outcomes for the Victorian community by better protecting people, property and the environment from risks associated with dangerous goods.

Once the amendments to the OHS Act and the new DG Transport Act commence, the DG Act will be repealed. This means it will no longer be in force.

The changes will impact all duty holders who currently have obligations under the DG Act.

The reforms may also impact duty holders under the OHS Act.

Yes, in the lead up to April 2028 all associated dangerous goods regulations will be reviewed and restructured to sit under either the OHS Act or new DG Transport Act.

This will include a review of the following regulations:

• Dangerous Goods (High Consequence Dangerous Goods) Regulations 2026
• Dangerous Goods (Transport by Road or Rail) Regulations 2018
• Dangerous Goods (Explosives) Regulations 2022
• Dangerous Goods (Storage and Handling) Regulations 2022.

Work is also now underway to review and remake the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (OHS Regulations) to incorporate the regulation of dangerous goods. The Victorian Government has committed to extending the OHS Regulations to April 2028 to ensure the new Acts and regulations commence at the same time.

The term ‘dangerous goods’ has specific meanings under the amendments to the OHS Act (see section 5) and the DG Transport Act (see section 3).

However, in general terms, dangerous goods are substances or articles that pose a risk to people, property or the environment because of their chemical or physical properties. They can cause explosions or fires, serious injury, death and large-scale damage.

Dangerous goods can be substances that are corrosive, flammable, combustible, explosive, oxidising, water reactive or have other hazardous properties.

The changes to dangerous goods laws follows recommendations from the Independent Review of the Dangerous Goods Act 1985 and associated regulations (the Review) and the Government’s response to those recommendations.

The Review was commissioned in 2020 following high-profile incidents associated with illegal chemical stockpiling at several sites across Melbourne in 2018 and 2019.

The Review found that the DG Act and associated regulations are no longer fit for purpose or consistent with other regulatory frameworks that apply to dangerous goods duty holders, most notably the OHS Act.

The Review’s final report delivered 49 recommendations of which the government supported 22 in full, 15 in principle, 11 required further consideration and one recommendation was noted. The new legislation addresses 24 of the recommendations.

Copies of the Review’s final report and the Government’s response are available on the Engage Victoria website.

The amendments to the OHS Act incorporate the dangerous goods regulatory framework into Victoria’s broader occupational health and safety framework.

This incorporation will modernise and streamline dangerous goods requirements to align with the structure, language and concepts of the OHS Act. This will make it simpler for duty holders to understand and comply with their obligations.

Amendments have also been made to the OHS Act to:

• incorporate the regulation of the handling of dangerous goods (including security sensitive ammonium nitrate and explosives) at workplaces and other places
• modernise the regulation of dangerous goods by introducing a broad general duty requiring a person involved in the handling of dangerous goods to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that dangerous goods are handled in a manner that is safe and without risks to health, safety and property
• create new offences for:  
  • breaching the new dangerous goods general duty
  • recklessly engaging in the handling of dangerous goods that places, or may place, another person in danger of serious injury or death
  • aggravated breaches of the new dangerous goods general duty
• expand and streamline WorkSafe’s powers and enforcement tools in relation to dangerous goods and occupational health and safety, including:  
  • expanding inspector powers to intervene and take action to address serious and immediate risks arising from dangerous goods
  • introducing a civil penalty scheme 
  • expanding the orders that a Court may make in proceedings, including compliance and restraining orders and monetary benefit orders
• make several other amendments to give effect to the incorporation of the regulation of dangerous goods into the OHS Act.

In the lead up to 2028, all existing dangerous goods regulations currently under the DG Act will be reviewed and remade, in consultation with stakeholders.

To create consistency across all aspects of workplace health and safety, broader changes have also been made to align existing elements of the OHS Act with the new dangerous goods legislation.

The transport of dangerous goods will be regulated under the new DG Transport Act.

The DG Transport Act:

• creates a new standalone Act to regulate the transport of dangerous goods by vessel on inland water, by road or by rail
• modernises the regulation of dangerous goods transport by introducing a broad general duty requiring a person to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that dangerous goods are transported in a manner that is safe and without risks to public safety, property and the environment.
• creates new offences for:
  • breaching the new dangerous goods transport general duty
  • an aggravated breach of the new dangerous goods transport general duty
  • recklessly engaging in the transport of dangerous goods that places or may place a person in danger of serious injury or death
• expands and streamlines WorkSafe’s powers and enforcement tools in relation to dangerous goods transport, including with the introduction of a civil penalty scheme.
• makes several other amendments to give effect to the creation of a new Act to regulate the transport of dangerous goods.

Victoria is a signatory to the Inter-Governmental Agreement for regulatory and operational reform in road, rail and intermodal transport. In this agreement, the Commonwealth and the states and territories agreed to establish the National Transport Commission (NTC).

The NTC updates and maintains the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road & Rail (ADG Code). The ADG Code is then given effect through the Model Act for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road or Rail (Model Transport Act) and the Model Subordinate Legislative Instrument for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road or Rail (MSI).

In Victoria, the transport of dangerous goods is currently regulated under the DG Act and the Dangerous Goods (Transport by Road or Rail) Regulations 2018, which give effect to the ADG Code. Although Victoria does not currently have a standalone Act that mirrors the national Model Transport Act, the DG Act incorporates many equivalent provisions and generally aligns with the national model laws.

The introduction of the DG Transport Act will increase Victoria’s alignment with the Model Transport Act and MSI.

The Review recommended that dangerous goods transport should be regulated by its own Act if the regulation of the handling of dangerous goods was incorporated into the OHS Act.

Broader changes have been made to existing elements of the OHS Act to align with the modernised and strengthened dangerous goods legislation.

These changes will help reduce risk, prevent harm and better deter non-compliance and unlawful activity. Key changes include:

• a new aggravated offence for serious breaches of the general occupational health and safety general duty (section 21)
• introduction of civil penalty provisions and changes to civil orders
• a new duty for an officer of a body corporate to exercise due diligence
• new powers to redirect directions to related or associated entities and to redirect obligations to officers in certain circumstances.

The changes to modernise and strengthen Victoria’s dangerous goods legislation introduced new concepts that didn’t directly align with existing broader duties in the OHS Act.

As noted in the Review, this presented an opportunity to examine how these concepts should apply beyond the handling of dangerous goods and make broader amendments to support consistency across other aspects of workplace health and safety.

As a result, additional changes have been made to modernise the OHS Act to help reduce risk, prevent harm and better deter non-compliance and unlawful activity.

There are no immediate changes to licence or permit requirements related to dangerous goods activities in Victoria.

However, current licensing frameworks will be reviewed as part of the review of all dangerous goods regulations in the lead up to April 2028.

This review will ensure licence classes remain fit for purpose and continue to deliver the intended health and safety outcomes.

Any changes to the requirements will be communicated to relevant licence or permit holders.

Extensive consultation and engagement with the Victorian community, businesses, industry, key stakeholders and all levels of government helped inform the development of this new legislation.

This included targeted consultation with key stakeholder groups and industry representatives and public consultation via Engage Victoria during the Review.

In addition, WorkSafe gained insights on incorporated work health and safety and dangerous goods legislation from interstate regulators including in New South Wales and Queensland.

Specific terms of reference guided the work of the Review, and subsequent changes to Victoria’s dangerous goods legislation.

While the national model Work Health and Safety laws (WHS laws) related to dangerous goods were considered as part of the Review, adopting them in Victoria was outside the scope of this work.

Adopting the WHS laws would be a separate consideration for the Victorian Government, and a broader piece of work.

The approach to these changes, including the amendments to the OHS Act and the new DG Transport Act, are designed to help make it easier for duty holders to understand and comply with their obligations. It also highlights the importance of dangerous goods legislation in Victoria.