Ozone Protection

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• Table 1 - Register of the Status of Ratification of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments (PDF - 102 KB)
• Table 2 - Amendments to the Montreal Protocol and the full list of ozone depleting substances introduced by each Amendment (PDF - 34 KB)

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 ('the Act') implements Australia's obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer ('the Montreal Protocol') by prohibiting the import, export and manufacture of ozone depleting substances unless the correct licence or exemption is held.

Under the Act all licences to import or export ozone depleting substances carry a condition that the licensee must only import or export the substance from a country that has ratified the Montreal Protocol  and the relevant subsequent Amendments.

The Amendments are:

• London Amendment
• Copenhagen Amendment
• Montreal Amendment
• Beijing Amendment

All Amendments, except the Montreal Amendment, introduced new substances to the 1987 Montreal Protocol's list of regulated - or 'scheduled' - ozone depleting substances.

Licensees should note that not all countries that have ratified the Montreal Protocol have ratified all of its Amendments, and should be aware that some countries have not ratified the Montreal Protocol at all. Trade in ozone depleting substances with countries that have not ratified the Montreal Protocol is illegal. Imports from, and exports to non-Montreal Protocol countries may result in serious penalties, including monetary fines and loss of licence.

It is essential that licensees check whether the country that they wish to export to/import from has:

• Ratified the Montreal Protocol; and
• Ratified the relevant Amendment that introduced controls on the substance they wish to import/export.

To do this, licensees should check the Register of the Status of Ratification of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments in Table 1 that the country has ratified the relevant Amendment for the particular ozone depleting substance that they are licensed to import or export.

Table 1 summarises the ozone depleting substances controlled under each Amendment into groups. Licensees may also check the full list of ozone depleting substances in Table 2, which lists the Amendments to the Montreal Protocol and each of the ozone depleting substances that each Amendment introduced.

If unsure of the status of a particular country, or which Amendment a particular ozone depleting substance relates to, licensees should contact the Ozone and Synthetic Gas Team before trading in ozone depleting substances. Licensees may request a written certificate stating whether a specified country was listed in the Register for a specified substance on a specified date.

Where a range of ozone depleting potentials is indicated, the highest value in that range shall be used for the purposes of the Montreal Protocol. The ozone depleting potentials listed as a single value have been determined from calculations based on laboratory measurements. Those listed as a range are based on estimates and are less certain.

Contact details

For further information on Australia's Montreal Protocol obligations please contact the Ozone and Synthetic Gas Team at the contact details below.

Ozone and Synthetic Gas Team
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6274 2023
Facsimile: (02) 6274 1610
Email: ozone@environment.gov.au