People who do not correctly dispose of potentially dangerous household substances such as paint, cleaning products and aerosols now face fines of up to to $100 000.

The Workplace Relations Minister, Lisa Singh, has launched a campaign to encourage people to read and follow the instructions on items marked danger or caution.

It coincides with new laws that introduce fines for people who do not take reasonable precautions with dangerous products.

Ms Singh says dangerous substances are common in many household products.

"I think we all need to be mindful that when we go into hardware stores buy paint, various other products that we use at home aerosols and the like that we dispose of them carefully and that we also use them carefully and the only way to do that is to follow the instructions." she said.