New Zealand New Zealand EPA Opens Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Graphic Materials Group Standard Under the HSNO Act

New Zealand Draft Chemical Substances (Products)
4 August 2026  mi.envix  Isana Makabe (EnviX)
New Zealand EPA Opens Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Graphic Materials Group Standard Under the HSNO Act

On July 29, 2026, the New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) announced the launch of a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Graphic Materials Group Standard 2020. Submissions will be accepted until September 29, 2026. Issued by the EPA under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act), this group standard establishes requirements for the labeling, safety data sheets (SDS), packaging, and disposal of hazardous substances imported or manufactured as graphic materials for children. In the proposed amendments, the EPA suggests lowering the age in the definition of a child from 12 years and under to 7 years and under, excluding extremely low-risk items such as pens and pencils from the standard, and defining the conditions related to hazard classification under which labeling and SDS obligations would be exempt.

The EPA’s proposal is in response to an application for amendments to the group standard, which was jointly submitted to the EPA on January 14, 2026, by the Australian Toy Association (ATA) and the New Zealand Toy Distributors Association (NZTDA).

The amendments requested by the applicants, the ATA and the NZTDA, along with the EPA’s corresponding proposals, are outlined below.

Summary of EPA’s proposals in response to the application

 

Applicant’s requested amendments EPA proposals to address the applicant’s requests
Change the age limit for graphic materials that must be assigned to the group standard from 12 years old or younger to “up to 96 months”. We propose to amend the definition of child for the purposes of the group standard, changing it from 12 years old or younger to 7 years old or younger.
Change the requirement for element migration limit testing so that it is only required for graphic materials that are classified as toys. We propose to amend the definition of graphic materials in the group standard to exclude negligible risk items such as pens and pencils, so these graphic materials are no longer regulated under HSNO.
Change the element migration limit requirement to reference the standard AS/NZS ISO 8124.3 instead of EN 71-3:2019+A1:2021. We propose that the group standard continues to reference EN 71-3 for the element leaching limits.
Consider if the requirement is intended to apply to graphic materials without hazard classifications. We propose to amend the wording in the scope (clause 4) to explicitly state that the group standard applies to products that do not trigger a hazard classification but contain one or more hazardous ingredients.
Add specific additional hazard classifications to be allowed in the scope of the Graphic Materials Group Standard. We propose that a substance can be assigned to the group standard if it is classified for a human health hazard in New Zealand only because New Zealand uses lower Globally Harmonised System (GHS) cut-off thresholds for mixtures. This would only apply where the same substance would not be classified for a human health hazard by recognised international regulators.
Remove the requirement to comply with the Hazardous Substances (Labelling) Notice 2017 for certain graphic materials. We propose that graphic materials that trigger a hazard classification in New Zealand only because New Zealand applies lower GHS cut-off thresholds for mixtures are exempt from complying with the Labelling Notice, where the same materials would not be classified for a human health hazard by recognised international regulators.
Remove the requirement to comply with the Hazardous Substances (Safety Data Sheet) Notice 2017 for certain graphic materials. We propose that graphic materials that trigger a hazard classification in New Zealand only because New Zealand applies lower GHS cut-off thresholds for mixtures are exempt from complying with the SDS Notice, where the same materials would not be classified for a human health hazard by recognised international regulators.

 

Furthermore, the definitions of terms in the current standard are as follows:

Term Definition
Child or children child or children means any person 12 years old or younger
Graphic material Graphic material means a material which is deposited onto another material by a graphic[s] instrument including fingers and hands for the purpose of writing, drawing, painting or marking, and includes but is not limited to—

(a) a crayon;

(b) a water colour paint;

(c) a finger paint;

(d) pastels, chalk, coloured pencils and felt pens

 

Stakeholders can make a submission to provide information, offer comments, raise issues, and present requests regarding the EPA’s proposals via an online form. After the consultation period closes, the EPA will publish a report on the EPA website. A Decision-making Committee (DMC) will then consider the proposals and the submissions and publish DMC’s decision on the EPA website.

On the same day, the EPA also submitted a WTO/TBT notification for the proposed amendments and opened it for public comment (G/TBT/N/NZL/155). The deadline for submitting comments is September 27, 2026. The notification document notes that the adoption date for the proposed amendments is to be determined.

Reference

Author / Responsibility

Isana Makabe

Researcher, EnviX Ltd.

Business Performance

Expertise in EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) consulting in EU and Oceania regions.
- Environmental regulation updating
- Chemical regulations consulting

Background

M.Eng. in Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology).

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