Code of Practice — Welding Processes

The full title is the Code of Practice: Welding Processes, published by Safe Work Australia. The code becomes legally binding from 1 July 2026 under Section 26A of the WHS Act. The code applies to all welding, thermal cutting, brazing, soldering, and allied processes including MIG, TIG, stick, flux-cored arc, submerged arc, oxy-fuel, plasma cutting, and laser welding. It covers fume and gas management, ventilation and extraction requirements, fire and explosion prevention, electrical safety for welding equipment, radiation protection, noise management, personal protective equipment, hot work permit systems, and confined space welding. The code cross-references the workplace exposure limits for welding fume, manganese, hexavalent chromium, nickel, and other metals present in welding emissions.

The code applies to every PCBU whose workers perform welding, cutting, or allied thermal processes. Metal fabrication businesses performing production welding are the primary audience, but the code's obligations extend to construction companies performing site welding and hot work, auto body repair shops performing MIG and spot welding, maintenance workshops performing repair welding, mining operations performing field maintenance welding, manufacturing businesses with in-house welding for production or maintenance, and any PCBU who engages welding contractors. The code also applies to designers and manufacturers of welding equipment who must ensure their products can be used safely, and to suppliers of welding consumables who must provide safety data sheets with accurate information about fume composition.

The code requires PCBUs to assess the fume and gas hazards for each welding process considering the base metal, consumable, shielding gas, and welding parameters. Local exhaust ventilation with source capture is the primary engineering control for welding fume, and the code specifies that general ventilation alone is insufficient for most indoor welding operations. Extraction systems must be positioned to capture fume within the worker's breathing zone before inhalation occurs. Fire and explosion prevention requires a hot work permit system for all welding performed outside designated welding bays, with fire watches maintained for a minimum period after welding ceases. Welding in confined spaces requires additional controls including forced ventilation, continuous atmospheric monitoring, and emergency rescue provisions. Radiation protection requires welding screens or curtains to protect nearby workers from ultraviolet exposure. Personal protective equipment must include appropriate filter lenses, flame-resistant clothing, welding gloves, and respiratory protection where engineering controls are insufficient.

First, conduct fume exposure monitoring at all welding workstations for total welding fume and speciated metals including manganese, hexavalent chromium, and nickel, comparing results against both the current welding fume WEL of 1 mg/m³ and the incoming individual metal WELs effective December 2026. Second, audit local exhaust ventilation systems on all welding bays, verifying extraction effectiveness through smoke tube testing, measuring capture velocities at the fume source, and confirming that extraction arms, on-torch extraction systems, or downdraft tables are functioning at design specifications. Third, review the hot work permit system for all welding performed outside designated bays, verifying that permits document the fire risk assessment, control measures, and fire watch requirements for each job. Fourth, update welding SWMS and procedures to reference the binding code requirements and the incoming WELs, ensuring that control measures address fume, radiation, electrical, fire, and noise hazards for each welding process. Fifth, verify that health surveillance programs cover all welders with baseline and periodic lung function testing, audiometric testing, and monitoring for metal-specific health effects including manganism and chromium sensitisation.

Welding fume is an IARC Group 1 carcinogen, meaning that inadequate fume control exposes workers to a known cancer risk. After 1 July 2026, failure to follow the code constitutes a standalone offence. Category 2 penalties of up to $1,731,500 for a body corporate apply where workers are exposed to excessive welding fume through inadequate extraction or ventilation. The concurrent WEL reductions for manganese (98 per cent), nickel (99 per cent), and hexavalent chromium (90 per cent) create additional enforcement exposure for welding businesses that have not upgraded their extraction and monitoring programs. Improvement notices are commonly issued for welding workshops without local exhaust ventilation, and non-compliance with the notice is a separate offence. Where welding fire causes property damage, injury, or death, the absence of a hot work permit system provides clear evidence of non-compliance for prosecution. All penalties are uninsurable in NSW since 10 June 2020.