Code of Practice — Managing Risks of Respirable Crystalline Silica

The full title is the Code of Practice: Managing the Risks of Respirable Crystalline Silica from Engineered Stone in the Workplace, published by Safe Work Australia with additional guidance covering all silica-generating tasks. The code becomes legally binding from 1 July 2026 under Section 26A of the WHS Act. The code applies to all work that generates respirable crystalline silica, which includes cutting, grinding, drilling, and polishing concrete, brick, masonry, natural stone, morite, fibre cement, and any other silica-containing material. It covers silica management plans, the hierarchy of controls applied to silica dust with emphasis on wet suppression and local exhaust ventilation, silica worker register requirements under the WHS Regulation 2025, health surveillance including chest imaging and lung function testing, air monitoring requirements, and RPE selection for silica-generating tasks.

The code applies to every PCBU whose workers perform tasks that generate respirable crystalline silica. Construction companies performing concrete cutting, grinding, drilling, core holing, and demolition are the largest affected group. Mining companies extracting and processing silica-containing rock and ore are covered. Tunnelling operations that cut through sandstone, granite, and other silica-bearing formations must comply. Manufacturing businesses producing concrete products, bricks, tiles, and sanitaryware are captured. Stone masonry and monument works must follow the code. Road construction and maintenance involving asphalt cutting and concrete pavement removal are covered. Foundries using silica sand moulds and cores are captured. The code also applies to PCBUs in adjacent work areas where silica dust may migrate from the generating task, requiring them to control bystander exposure.

The code requires a silica management plan for every workplace where silica-generating tasks are performed. The plan must identify all tasks that generate respirable crystalline silica, document the controls in place for each task following the hierarchy, and specify the air monitoring and health surveillance arrangements. Wet suppression is the primary engineering control — all cutting, grinding, and drilling of silica-containing materials must use water suppression at the point of cutting unless it is not reasonably practicable. Dry cutting of concrete and masonry should be eliminated wherever possible. A silica worker register must be established under the WHS Regulation 2025, recording each worker's exposure history, tasks performed, controls in place, and health monitoring results. Records must be retained for 40 years. Health surveillance must include baseline chest imaging and lung function testing before silica exposure commences, with periodic monitoring at intervals determined by the level of exposure. Air monitoring must be conducted using respirable cyclone samplers with XRD analysis.

First, identify every task in the workplace that generates respirable crystalline silica, including tasks that are not obviously silica-related such as sweeping concrete dust, demolishing old masonry, and grinding fibre cement sheet. Second, develop or update the silica management plan documenting each identified task, the current controls, any gaps against the code's requirements, and the actions needed to achieve compliance. Third, establish the silica worker register required under the WHS Regulation 2025, enrolling all workers who perform silica-generating tasks and recording their exposure history, health surveillance results, and training records. Fourth, commission respirable crystalline silica air monitoring at representative tasks using personal cyclone samplers with XRD analysis, comparing results against the incoming 0.025 mg/m³ WEL and using the data to verify control effectiveness. Fifth, implement health surveillance for all silica-exposed workers, with baseline chest imaging and lung function testing completed before or as soon as practicable after first exposure, and periodic monitoring at intervals recommended by the occupational physician.

Silicosis is irreversible, progressive, and frequently fatal. The engineered stone crisis demonstrated that accelerated silicosis can develop in workers as young as their twenties after only a few years of poorly controlled exposure. After 1 July 2026, failure to follow the code constitutes a standalone offence. The combination of the binding code and the tighter WEL creates multiple enforcement points. Failure to maintain a silica worker register is a specific offence under the WHS Regulation. Category 2 penalties of up to $1,731,500 for a body corporate apply where workers are exposed to silica dust above the WEL. Prohibition notices are issued for dry cutting of silica-containing materials without suppression or extraction, immediately stopping the work. The 40-year record retention requirement for silica worker registers means that compliance failures today can be discovered and prosecuted decades later. All penalties are uninsurable in NSW since 10 June 2020.