Class 8 Corrosives

Class 8 is the dangerous goods class for corrosive substances.

How much can you store before you need a placard?

In New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, a placard comes in once the quantity you store exceeds the figure below. Victoria and Western Australia set their own, and count by packing group rather than category.

Chemical Category Placard quantity Manifest quantity
Skin corrosion Category 1A 50 kg or 50 L 500 kg or 500 L
Category 1B 250 kg or 250 L 2,500 kg or 2,500 L
Category 1C 1,000 kg or 1,000 L 10,000 kg or 10,000 L
Corrosive to metals Category 1 1,000 kg or 1,000 L 10,000 kg or 10,000 L

Source: Safe Work Australia, Placard and manifest threshold quantities (Schedule 11 to the model WHS Regulations)

Figures checked against the linked source on 2026-09-29.

General information, not advice for your site. The figures on this page are quoted from the government sources linked beside them and were checked on the date shown. What applies to you depends on what you store, how much, and which state you are in, and the law changes. Check the source, or ask your regulator.

The signs we stock

Placards come in aluminium or polypropylene at 270 x 270 mm. Stickers come in two sizes, and label rolls in 500. Every price includes GST.

Common substances in this class

Each one is listed against its UN number, so you can check it against the shipping documents or the safety data sheet you already have.

Substance UN number
Battery fluid 2797
Hydrochloric acid 1789
Mercury 2809
Nitric acid 2031
Potassium hydroxide 1813
Sodium hydroxide 1823
Sulphuric acid 1830

Substance names and UN numbers are from the Australian Dangerous Goods Code list. The list runs to more than 2,400 entries, so this is a sample of the everyday ones, not all of them.

The other classes

Not on this list? If the class or the wording you want is not here, tell us on Custom Signs - your own text, your own size - and we will come back with a price.

Not sure which classes you hold?

Lupin Systems keeps your safety data sheets in one place and works out the signage and the PPE from what you store.

See Lupin Systems