Product name
Keep the commercial or trade name. It helps you trace the result back to the product actually used on site, but it should not be treated as the chemical identity by itself.
WES → WEL 2026 · Inventory preparation
How to prepare a chemical inventory for the WEL transition
A workplace chemical inventory can be a useful starting point for finding substances affected by Australia's WES→WEL transition. The strongest screening file keeps the substance identity separate from the product trade name and preserves enough context to recognise ambiguous forms or fractions.
What this can and cannot do
Inventory screening can help find listed transition changes. It cannot establish actual airborne exposure, adequacy of controls, legal compliance or whether every relevant contaminant is present in the inventory.
Useful columns to collect
Substance or ingredient name
Record the chemical or contaminant name as shown in the SDS or other authoritative product information. This is usually the most useful field for a WEL transition screen.
CAS number, if already held
If your existing inventory contains a CAS number, keep it as corroborating identity evidence. BecSpec does not require CAS to run the experimental screen and does not use CAS as its permanent master key.
Supplier and SDS date
These fields make it easier to return to the source document and notice whether the safety data sheet may need refreshing.
Process or workplace context
Include useful context such as welding, powder transfer, spraying, grinding, diesel plant, hot processes or enclosed work. This can matter when a listing depends on physical form, fraction or a process-generated contaminant.
Why form and fraction matter
Some WEL entries cannot safely be resolved from a chemical name alone. Examples include substances with separate inhalable and respirable entries, dust versus fume treatment, soluble versus insoluble forms, or vapour versus particulate limits. If your source information does not distinguish the relevant form, a good screening tool should return review required rather than choose one.
Do not stop at the inventory
Work processes can generate airborne contaminants that never appear as a purchased chemical line. Safe Work Australia specifically refers to dusts, gases, fumes, vapours and mists generated by work. A transition review therefore needs a second question: what does the work generate?
Process-generated contaminants and WEL 2026 →
Try the inventory screen
BecSpec's experimental tool accepts CSV and XLSX inventories and reports confirmed transition matches, potential matches needing review, unresolved lines and process-review prompts. It does not produce a compliance verdict.
Before acting on a result
Check the current Safe Work Australia WES/WEL material, the relevant SDS and the WHS regulator for your jurisdiction. The WEL list is scheduled to apply from 1 December 2026 following implementation into Commonwealth, state and territory WHS laws.