5The strength
Teeth whitening in the Poisons Standard
In the Poisons Standard October 2026, hydrogen peroxide in teeth-whitening preparations containing more than 6% (20 volume), and carbamide peroxide in teeth-whitening preparations containing more than 18%, are listed in Schedule 10, the schedule of “Substances of such danger to health as to warrant prohibition of supply and use”. Each of those entries makes one exception, for “preparations manufactured for, and supplied solely by, registered dental practitioners as part of their dental practice.”
General information, not medical or legal advice. The text that counts is the Poisons Standard October 2026 on the Federal Register of Legislation, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s page on scheduling explains the system.
The entries
Schedule 10: prohibitionThe entries, word for word
Two substances matter here, and each appears in more than one schedule. The Schedule 10 entries are written for teeth-whitening preparations; the Schedule 5 entries are written for preparations in general.
| Schedule | The entry |
|---|---|
| Schedule 10 | “HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (excluding its salts and derivatives) in teeth whitening preparations containing more than 6% (20 volume) of hydrogen peroxide except in preparations manufactured for, and supplied solely by, registered dental practitioners as part of their dental practice.” |
| Schedule 10 | “CARBAMIDE PEROXIDE (excluding its salts and derivatives) in teeth whitening preparations containing more than 18% of carbamide peroxide except in preparations manufactured for, and supplied solely by, registered dental practitioners as part of their dental practice.” |
| Schedule 5 | “HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (excluding its salts and derivatives): (a) in hair dye preparations containing 12% or less of hydrogen peroxide except in hair dyes containing 6% or less of hydrogen peroxide; or (b) in other preparations containing 6% (20 volume) or less of hydrogen peroxide except in preparations containing 3% (10 volume) or less of hydrogen peroxide.” |
| Schedule 5 | “CARBAMIDE PEROXIDE in preparations containing 18% or less of carbamide peroxide except in preparations containing 9% or less of carbamide peroxide.” |
Paragraph (a) of the Schedule 5 hydrogen peroxide entry is about hair dyes; it is printed so that the entry is complete. The hydrogen peroxide entries give strength two ways, as a percentage and in “volume”: 6% is written “6% (20 volume)”, and 3% is written “3% (10 volume)”.
Schedules
What each schedule means
The Standard’s own reader’s guide describes each schedule. Here are the three that hold these entries, in its words.
Schedule 5, Caution. “Substances with a low potential for causing harm, the extent of which can be reduced through the use of appropriate packaging with simple warnings and safety directions on the label.”
Schedule 6, Poisons. “Substances with a moderate potential for causing harm, the extent of which can be reduced through the use of distinctive packaging with strong warnings and safety directions on the label.”
Poisons Standard October 2026, reader’s guide, classification
Schedule 10. “Substances which are prohibited for the purpose or purposes listed for each poison.”
“Schedule 10 (previously Appendix C) contains a list of substances or preparations, the supply or use of which should be prohibited because of their known dangerous properties.”
Poisons Standard October 2026, reader’s guide, classification and principles of scheduling
Schedule 10 works by purpose: its substances are prohibited “for the purpose or purposes listed for each poison”, and the purpose both peroxide entries list is teeth whitening. On the lower schedules, the reader’s guide adds that for some medicines and poisons, “Schedules 5, 6 and 7 represent increasingly stricter container and labelling requirements”.
A schedule’s description is the Standard’s classification of a substance. This guide does not read it as saying that any preparation, at any strength, is safe to use.
Legal effect
How the Standard takes effect in each state and territory
Scheduling, as the Therapeutic Goods Administration describes it, is a national system of classes that controls how medicines and chemicals reach consumers, in order to protect public health. The Poisons Standard, also called the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP), takes one uniform approach to controlling the availability of substances that may be ingredients in medicines, cosmetics, agricultural products or household cleaners.
The Standard does not act alone. The schedules are published in it and given legal effect through state and territory legislation, and the Standard is made of classification decisions for those states and territories to include in their own laws. The entries above are the national classification; how they apply in a particular state or territory is set by that place’s own legislation, which this guide does not cover.
Limits
What this guide does not say
This guide reproduces the entries and explains where they sit. It does not say that any preparation, at any strength, may be sold, bought or used, or that any is safe. It names no product and describes no method.
The Schedule 10 exception turns on who a preparation is made for and supplied by: “registered dental practitioners as part of their dental practice”. Who is a registered dental practitioner, and in which division, is set out in the guide to dental titles, and can be checked on Ahpra’s register.
Advertising is a separate question. The Therapeutic Goods Administration regulates the advertising of therapeutic goods, and section 133 of the National Law binds anyone advertising a regulated health service, meaning a service provided, or usually provided, by a health practitioner; the guide to advertising covers it.