How to Read a Safety Data Sheet (SDS): A Practical Guide

What is a Safety Data Sheet, and how do you read one?

A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is a standardised, 16-section document that tells you what a chemical is, how it can hurt you, and what to do about it. Reading one properly means knowing which of the 16 GHS sections to check before, during and after a task — not reading the whole document top to bottom every time.

Every SDS sold or supplied in Australia follows the same structure, in the same order, because it is built on the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Once you know that structure, you can find what you need in any SDS, for any chemical, in under a minute.

This guide covers the skill of reading an SDS on the floor. If you're after the separate duty to keep a register of SDSs on site, see our guide on SDS register requirements in Victoria.

How is an SDS structured?

Every compliant SDS has exactly 16 numbered sections, always in the same order. This isn't a house style choice by the manufacturer — it's a requirement under the GHS, and Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice for preparing SDSs sets out the same 16 sections. That consistency is the whole point: once you've learned the layout on one SDS, you can navigate any SDS from any supplier, for any chemical, the same way.

Skim-reading an SDS top to bottom wastes time and often means the sections that matter for the task in front of you get missed. The better approach is to go straight to the sections relevant to what you're about to do, and treat the rest as reference material.

What are the 16 sections of an SDS?

Here's the full structure, in order, as required under the GHS and confirmed by Safe Work Australia.

Section	What it covers
1. Identification	Product name, chemical identity, manufacturer/importer details, recommended use
2. Hazard(s) identification	The hazard classification, hazard pictograms, signal word, hazard and precautionary statements
3. Composition and information on ingredients	The chemical ingredients, including hazardous substances and their concentrations
4. First aid measures	What to do immediately if someone is exposed — by inhalation, skin/eye contact, or ingestion
5. Firefighting measures	Suitable extinguishing media, and specific hazards from fire (e.g. toxic fumes)
6. Accidental release measures	Spill response — containment, clean-up methods, and precautions
7. Handling and storage	How to handle the chemical safely, and how and where to store it, including incompatibilities
8. Exposure controls / personal protection	Exposure standards, engineering controls, and the PPE required
9. Physical and chemical properties	Appearance, odour, flash point, flammability, pH, and similar physical data
10. Stability and reactivity	Chemical stability, and what it reacts dangerously with
11. Toxicological information	Health effects — acute and chronic — from exposure
12. Ecological information	Environmental impact and ecotoxicity
13. Disposal considerations	Safe disposal methods for the chemical and its container
14. Transport information	Classification and requirements for transporting the chemical
15. Regulatory information	Australian and international regulatory status of the chemical
16. Other information	Anything else relevant, including the date the SDS was last revised

Source: Safe Work Australia, Preparing safety data sheets.

Which SDS sections matter most on the factory floor?

Not all 16 sections carry equal weight for a worker or supervisor about to use a chemical. In practice, four sections do most of the work day to day.

Section 2 — Hazard identification. This is your fastest read. It tells you, in the hazard and precautionary statements, exactly what the chemical can do to a person — flammable, corrosive, a respiratory sensitiser, carcinogenic — before you touch it. If you only read one section before starting a task, this is it.

Section 4 — First aid measures. This needs to be known before an incident, not looked up during one. If a chemical splashes in someone's eyes or is inhaled, there's no time to go searching through a register — the first aid steps need to already be understood by whoever is nearby, which is why this section belongs in toolbox talks and inductions, not just the register.

Section 7 — Handling and storage. This tells you how to actually work with the chemical without creating a hazard — ventilation needs, safe handling technique, and critically, what it must be kept away from. Two chemicals that are individually low-risk can be a serious hazard stored side by side; Section 7 is where that incompatibility shows up.

Section 8 — Exposure controls and PPE. This section specifies the exposure standard for the chemical and the engineering controls and PPE needed to stay under it — gloves, respirators, eye protection, ventilation. It should match what's actually issued and used on the floor, not just what's written in a procedure. For the broader duty here, see our guide on PPE obligations for employers.

The other twelve sections matter — particularly Section 3 (composition) if there's ever a medical response, and Sections 9–11 for anyone doing a formal risk assessment — but Sections 2, 4, 7 and 8 are the ones a worker needs fluent, working knowledge of before a task starts.

How do you use an SDS practically before starting a task?

Reading an SDS in isolation doesn't achieve much. It needs to translate into what happens before someone opens a drum or picks up a spray bottle. A short, practical checklist:

1. Confirm it's the current SDS for the exact product. Check the product name and revision date in Section 1/16 match the label on the container in front of you — not a similar product, and not last year's version if the formulation has changed.
2. Read Section 2 for the hazard statements. Know what you're dealing with before you start — flammable, toxic, corrosive, or a combination.
3. Check Section 7 for handling and storage requirements, including what the chemical must be kept away from, and whether the task calls for anything (ventilation, spark control) beyond what's already in place.
4. Check Section 8 and put on the PPE it specifies — not generic PPE, the PPE for this chemical at the concentration and exposure route in question.
5. Know where Section 4's first aid steps are and make sure whoever is working nearby does too, before anything goes wrong.
6. If anything in Sections 2, 7 or 8 doesn't match what's actually on site — no eyewash station, no compatible storage, no correct PPE available — stop and raise it before starting the task, don't work around it.

This is the same logic that sits behind a JSEA or SWMS: the SDS is the primary source document that risk assessment should be built from, not a compliance file that gets filed and forgotten.

SDS reading vs the SDS register: what's the difference?

Reading an SDS is a skill every worker who handles a chemical needs. Keeping an SDS register is a separate employer duty — maintaining the master list of hazardous substances on site with a current SDS for each one, and making sure it's genuinely accessible. Both matter, but they're different jobs done by different people. For the register duty itself, see SDS register requirements in Victoria and what needs to be in your hazardous substances register. For how labelling and register requirements come together at an inspection, see our chemical labelling and storage inspector checklist.

FAQ

What is a Safety Data Sheet used for? An SDS tells you what a chemical is, how it can harm a person, and what to do to handle it, store it, respond to a spill, and treat an exposure safely. It's the primary reference for anyone working with a hazardous chemical.

How many sections does an SDS have? Every compliant SDS has 16 sections, in a fixed order, under the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) used in Australia and internationally.

Which section of an SDS tells you what PPE to wear? Section 8, "Exposure controls and personal protection," specifies the exposure standard for the chemical along with the engineering controls and PPE needed to work with it safely.

Do I need to read the whole SDS before using a chemical? Not every time. For routine tasks, Sections 2 (hazards), 4 (first aid), 7 (handling/storage) and 8 (PPE) cover what most workers need before starting. The full document matters more for anyone doing a formal risk assessment or managing an incident.

What's the difference between an SDS and a hazardous substances register? An SDS is the document for one specific chemical. A hazardous substances register is the master list an employer keeps of every hazardous chemical on site, with the current SDS for each one attached — a separate compliance duty, not a reading skill.

If you want your team actually able to read and act on the SDSs you already hold — not just have them on file — book a safety audit and we'll walk your floor, your chemical storage and your inductions with you.

This article is general information for manufacturers, not professional advice. Last updated: 20 September 2026.