Regulatory updates and insights

The 67th edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations applies to all shipments offered from 1 January 2026. It carries the 2025 to 2026 edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions plus the operator and state variations notified to IATA.

The change with the widest reach is the state of charge limit. Certain lithium ion batteries packed with equipment (UN 3481) must now be offered for transport at no more than 30 per cent state of charge, a limit that previously applied only to batteries shipped on their own. Shippers of equipment with batteries above 2.7 Wh should confirm their products and packing instructions against the new text.

Appendix H lists impending changes including new UN entries for sodium ion batteries (UN 3564) and lithium metal batteries installed in cargo transport units (UN 3563). Addendum I, issued for 1 January 2026, revised the exception for data loggers and cargo tracking devices powered by lithium batteries and amended package marking for sodium ion batteries.

If your dangerous goods manual, shipper procedures or packing checklists reference the 66th edition, they are out of date.

IATA publishes each new edition in the final quarter of the preceding year. Operators with a manual to amend, approvals to renew or training material to update should schedule the gap review for the fourth quarter of 2026 so changes are in place on day one.

David reviews manuals and procedures against the new edition as soon as the significant changes are published, and can brief your team on what affects you and what does not.

Part 92 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations governs the consignment and carriage of dangerous goods by air in Australia. It gives legal effect to the ICAO Technical Instructions and sets requirements on training, documentation, record keeping, incident reporting, packaging, marking, labelling, and loading and stowage.

It applies to shippers of dangerous goods and freight forwarders as well as to airline and general aviation operators. Recurrent dangerous goods training is required every 24 months under CASA's two-yearly training instrument, and CASA maintains a list of approved training organisations.

Audits, manual reviews and approval or exemption applications under Part 92 are the core of what Dangerous Goods by Air Consulting does for Australian clients.