Health monitoring

Health monitoring is a process to check a worker’s health when exposed to certain hazardous chemicals in the workplace.

What is health monitoring

Health monitoring is done over the period a worker is exposed to certain hazardous chemicals. It identifies any change in a worker's health due to this exposure, and if any action is needed.

Health monitoring must be done or supervised by a registered medical practitioner (a doctor) with experience in health monitoring and should have an understanding of exposure to that chemical.

Health monitoring may include:

  • consultation with a registered medical practitioner
  • a physical examination, for example skin checks and/or lung function test
  • clinical tests, for example urine or blood test
  • X-rays.

Responsibilities of a PCBU

As a Business/Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), you may need to provide health monitoring to workers who may be exposed to certain hazardous chemicals.

You must:

  • consult with and explain the health monitoring requirements to the worker
  • engage a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring
  • organise and pay for the health monitoring appointments and expenses
  • give a copy of the health monitoring report to the worker
  • keep records of the health monitoring for 30 years.

Health monitoring is not an alternative to using effective control measures to eliminate or minimise risks to health. Health monitoring can indicate if your control measures are not effective. This can inform the action you take to improve these measures.

When to provide health monitoring

You must provide health monitoring if there is a significant risk:

  • to the worker’s health from exposure when ongoing work requires them to use, handle, generate or store a hazardous chemical listed in table 14.1 of schedule 14 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017, or
  • of exposure to any other hazardous chemical (not listed in Schedule 14) that;
    • has a valid test method for detecting health effects– for example, nickel or
    • a valid way of determining biological exposure to the hazardous chemical is available and it is uncertain, on reasonable grounds, whether the exposure to the hazardous chemical has resulted in the biological exposure standard being exceeded.

Hazardous chemicals listed in table 14.1 are:

  • acrylonitrile
  • arsenic (inorganic)
  • benzene
  • cadmium
  • chromium (inorganic)
  • creosote
  • crystalline silica
  • isocyanates
  • mercury (inorganic)
  • 4,4'-Methylene bis (2-chloroaniline) (MOCA)
  • organophosphate pesticides
  • pentachlorophenol (PCP)
  • polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
  • thallium
  • vinyl chloride

Lead is listed in table 14.2.

Types of health monitoring

Schedule 14 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017 lists the type of health monitoring required for each chemical. See column 3 of Table 14.1. For Lead, see Table 14.2.

Lead and asbestos have different health monitoring requirements.

If the type of health monitoring is not listed consult a registered medical practitioner to ask if a valid test method exists.

Health monitoring reports

A health monitoring report is a medical report completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner. It records the worker’s health monitoring examination results.

As a Business/PCBU, you must take reasonable steps to get a copy of the report from the registered medical practitioner as soon as possible.

You must send a copy of the health monitoring report to:

  • the worker, as soon as possible
  • any other PCBU that has a duty to provide health monitoring, for example, subcontractors.

You must keep all health monitoring reports for 30 years.

Adverse health monitoring report notification

As a PCBU, you must notify us when a worker’s health monitoring report contains either:

  • advice that test results indicate that the worker may have contracted a disease, injury or illness as a result of exposure to the hazardous chemical
  • a recommendation that you take remedial measures - this includes whether the worker can continue to the work that triggered the requirement for health monitoring.

For more information about how to notify us, visit Adverse health monitoring report notification.

Guides

Safe Work Australia has published guides for other chemicals recommended for health monitoring.

Safe Work Australia publishes health monitoring guides for chemicals listed in schedule 14 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011:

Safe Work Australia also publishes health monitoring guides for other chemicals:

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