The short answer
Digital Label Services supplies GHS chemical and drum labels on durable synthetic stocks, including BS 5609 rated constructions for marine transport. We print product identifiers, pictograms, signal words, hazard and precautionary statements to your supplied artwork, and supply the printers, inks and label material for in-house printing from Green Point NSW.
Digital Label Services · 7A Melissa St, Green Point NSW 2251 · 0431 942 464 · Monday to Friday, 8:30am–5:00pm
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A chemical label is a safety control that happens to be printed. It has to carry classification information a worker can read at the point of use, and it has to stay readable after months on a drum in a yard, a solvent wipe or a sea container crossing. Those are two different problems on one piece of film.
Digital Label Services supplies chemical manufacturers, packers and distributors with the GHS labels Australian suppliers need, durable label stock, and the printers and inks that produce them. This page covers what changed when Australia moved to GHS Revision 7, what the Work Health and Safety Regulations specify, and what a BS 5609 claim actually covers.
What changed when Australia moved to GHS 7?
Since 1 January 2023, GHS Revision 7 must be used to classify and label hazardous chemicals in Australia, replacing GHS Revision 3 after a transition that ran through 2021 and 2022. For most suppliers that meant reclassification work first and new artwork second, in that order, because the classification drives the pictograms and statements.
There is a nuance worth knowing. Chemicals manufactured or imported before 1 January 2023 may remain GHS 3 labelled and do not have to be relabelled, but the safety data sheet must still comply with GHS 7. Existing stock on a shelf and the paperwork that travels with it are treated differently, which surprises businesses working through a backlog. Safe Work Australia sets out the transition.
What must a hazardous chemical label carry?
Part 7.1 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 governs it. Regulation 341 sets the general labelling requirement, regulation 338 covers labelling by a supplier, regulation 335 covers retailers and suppliers packing chemicals, regulation 342 covers containers and regulation 343 covers pipe work. The content itself is specified in Schedule 9.
Regulation 342 is the one small sites overlook. Decanting a chemical into a workshop container does not remove the labelling obligation, and pipe work carrying hazardous chemicals is dealt with separately under regulation 343. Both usually mean small quantities of many different labels rather than long runs of one, which is a short-run printing problem before it is anything else.
The label elements specified in Schedule 9:
- Product identifier
- Hazard pictograms
- Signal word, either danger or warning
- Hazard statements
- Precautionary statements
What does BS 5609 actually cover?
BS 5609 is the marine label standard, and the current edition was published on 31 December 2024. It exists because the IMDG Code requires markings on dangerous goods containers to withstand immersion in the sea for three months, and testing to BS 5609 is how that durability is demonstrated rather than asserted.
The standard is split into sections and the split is the important part. Section 2 tests the base material, meaning the facestock and the adhesive, applied to aluminium and to HDPE panels. Section 3 tests print durability, which covers the image rather than the material carrying it. A facestock on its own cannot satisfy the standard in service. The printed system has to. UL Solutions describes the test sections.
Why do the printer and the ink matter as much as the facestock?
Because Section 3 tests the print, not the paper. A label stock offered as BS 5609 capable is half a claim. The other half is the image on it, produced by a specific printer with a specific ink or ribbon, and swapping the ribbon for a cheaper equivalent dissolves the tested combination without changing anything you can see.
The same logic applies to everyday chemical resistance. A toluene wipe or an acetone splash will lift an unprotected image off a facestock that shrugs the solvent off itself. Buying the labels, the label stock and materials and the printer from one supplier removes the argument about which component failed, because the whole construction was specified together.
How do you handle a long tail of chemical SKUs?
The GHS labels Australian chemical suppliers order are rarely high volume per product. They are many products, several pack sizes each, export lines carrying extra languages, and periodic classification changes that force reprints across the range. Plate-based printing turns every one of those into a setup cost.
Digital printing removes the plates. Low volume runs cover 1 to 1,000 labels, medium volume runs from 1,000 labels can be produced without printing plates, with production stated at within seven working days, and high volume starts at 10,000. Variable data lets batch numbers and fill dates change within a run. We supply printed product labels and, for sites that prefer to print on demand, the printers, inks and technical support to do it themselves.
Who is responsible for classification and label content?
The manufacturer or importer. Digital Label Services prints to the artwork and specification supplied and does not classify chemicals, write hazard statements or certify that a label complies. Classification under GHS 7, the pictograms, signal word, hazard statements, precautionary statements and the safety data sheet are the supplier’s responsibility. Confirm requirements with Safe Work Australia and your state or territory work health and safety regulator.
Label materials, adhesives, inks and finishes should be selected according to the intended application and relevant Australian requirements. Discuss specific technical or regulatory requirements with Digital Label Services before production. Deliveries and technician visits into western Sydney run from the Central Coast down the M1, and our label printing silverwater page covers that light industrial and commercial district.
Which label construction suits which chemical container?
A starting point for matching facestock, adhesive and print method to the container and the conditions it will meet.
| Container and use | Typical construction | What it must resist | Durability benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel or plastic drum stored outdoors | Synthetic facestock, aggressive permanent adhesive, durable image | Ultraviolet exposure, rain, temperature cycling, rolling and handling | BS 5609 Sections 2 and 3 where marine transport applies |
| IBC held in a chemical store | Large-format synthetic label, permanent adhesive | Solvent splash and abrasion from forklift and pallet contact | Solvent and rub resistance tested against the specific product |
| Small retail or workshop bottle | Synthetic or top-coated facestock, permanent adhesive | Handling, spillage of the product itself, wipe-down cleaning | Rub and solvent resistance for the packed chemical |
| Decanted container under regulation 342 | Short-run synthetic label, permanent adhesive | Workshop conditions and frequent relabelling | Legibility for the working life of the container |
| Pipe work marking under regulation 343 | Synthetic facestock, wrap-around or self-laminating | Plant washdown, heat and condensation | Adhesion to curved, coated and painted surfaces |
| Sea freight to an export market | BS 5609 rated facestock with a matched ink or ribbon | Salt water immersion, salt spray, weathering and colour fade | BS 5609:2024 Sections 2 and 3 as a printed system |
A BS 5609 claim applies to a tested combination of facestock, adhesive, printer and ink, not to a facestock in isolation. Confirm your requirements with Safe Work Australia or the relevant work health and safety regulator before production.
“Digital Label Services have delivered quality labels and consumables, cost savings and support for the last 7 months for our colour label printers ensuring that a key component of our business runs efficiently.”
Kim Jardine, General Manager, James Bennett P/L
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to relabel stock made before 1 January 2023?
No. Chemicals manufactured or imported before 1 January 2023 may remain GHS 3 labelled and do not need to be relabelled. The safety data sheet must still comply with GHS Revision 7. Anything manufactured or imported from that date must be classified and labelled to GHS 7, so new artwork follows the classification work.
What has to appear on a GHS label in Australia?
Schedule 9 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 specifies the elements: product identifier, hazard pictograms, a signal word of either danger or warning, hazard statements and precautionary statements. Regulation 341 sets the general labelling requirement, with regulation 338 covering suppliers, regulation 342 containers and regulation 343 pipe work.
Can you certify our labels as BS 5609 compliant?
No. We supply label constructions rated for marine and chemical durability and advise on the facestock, adhesive, printer and ink together, but a BS 5609 claim attaches to a tested combination rather than to any single component we sell. Testing and certification are undertaken by a testing house, and the claim remains the supplier’s to make.
Why does BS 5609 test on aluminium and HDPE?
Because those are the substrates a drum label is realistically applied to. Section 2 tests the base material, meaning facestock and adhesive, applied to aluminium and HDPE panels, while Section 3 tests print durability. The requirement traces back to the IMDG Code, which expects markings on dangerous goods containers to survive three months immersed in the sea.
Do we need to label a container we decant into on site?
Regulation 342 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 covers containers, and decanting into a workshop or plant container does not remove the labelling obligation. Pipe work carrying hazardous chemicals is addressed separately under regulation 343. Confirm how those provisions apply to your site with your state or territory work health and safety regulator.
Can you print small quantities of many different chemical labels?
Yes. Low volume runs cover 1 to 1,000 labels and medium volume runs from 1,000 labels can be produced without printing plates, with production stated at within seven working days. That suits a long tail of products, multiple pack sizes and periodic reclassification, where committing to one long run of a single artwork makes no sense.
Further reading
Need a durable label for drums, IBCs or export freight?
Tell us the chemical, the container, the storage conditions and the transport mode, and we will specify facestock, adhesive, printer and ink together, then quote the GHS labels Australian sites need. Call 0431 942 464.
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References and further reading
- Transition to GHS 7 — Safe Work Australia. the 1 January 2023 GHS 7 requirement and the treatment of existing stock
- Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 — Federal Register of Legislation. Part 7.1 labelling regulations and the Schedule 9 label elements
- BS 5609:2024 Printed pressure-sensitive adhesive coated labels for marine use — BSI. the current edition and the durability tests it covers
- Marine Use Label Testing (BS 5609) — UL Solutions. Section 2 base material testing, Section 3 print durability and the IMDG origin