Definition of an explosive
In general terms a substance or article is an explosive if it is classified as a Class 1 dangerous good or is listed in either of the following publications.
- Australian Code for the Transport of Explosives by Road and Rail (AEC), available from Safe Work Australia
- Australian Dangerous Goods Code (ADG Code), available from the National Transport Commission.
The formal definition is given in regulation 8 of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Explosives) Regulations 2007 and is summarised as follows:
A substance or article is an explosive for the purposes of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Explosives) Regulations 2007 if:
- it satisfies the UNTC Test 1
- it does not satisfy the UNTC Test 2
- it is declared to be an explosive by the Chief Dangerous Goods Officer, or in the AEC Appendix 2:
- it is named in an entry in column (2) of the AEC Appendix 2; and
- it is classified as Class 1 in column (3); and
- it satisfies an special provisions applied to it by column (6); and
- it satisfies any criteria applied in column (12), or
- it satisfies the UNTC tests for Class 1 dangerous goods; or
- it satisfies UNTC Test 1 and
- is named or described in the ADG Code Appendix A; or
- satisfies the UNTC tests for substances or articles too dangerous to transport.
People must have a specific authority to possess explosives except for a select list of low risk explosives widely available to the community (e.g. emergency devices, cartridges for nail guns and safety devices, sparklers and various toy fireworks, and ammunition held by holders of a firearms licence issued by the WA Police). There are three groups who have an authority to possess explosives:
- those who are licence holders
- “secure nominees” of licence or test permit holders
- those who are supervised by a licence holder or a “secure nominee”.