Engineered stone ban

Information about the ban on the engineered stone and your responsibilities when working with engineered stone from 1 July 2024.

About the ban on engineered stone

On 13 December 2023, Commonwealth state and territory Work Health and Safety ministers announced a ban on engineered stone effective 1 July 2024.

If you are a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) that undertakes, or directs workers to carry out, work involving the manufacture, supply, processing, or installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels, and slabs, it is important you understand your responsibilities under the ban.

What is engineered stone?

Engineered stone is defined as an artificial product that:

  • contains at least 1% crystalline silica as a weight/weight concentration, and
  • is created by combining natural stone materials with other chemical constituents (such as water, resins, or pigments), and
  • becomes hardened.

What is included in the ban

Any work involving the manufacture, supply, processing, or installation of engineered stone is banned, when it applies to:

  • benchtops for example, those installed in kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor surfaces
  • panels for example, kitchen splashbacks or floor and wall tiles; and
  • slabs for example, larger pieces of engineered stone that might need to be cut to fit a variety of difference installation setting.

What is not included in the ban

The ban does not apply to other silica related materials such as:

  • concrete and cement products
  • bricks pavers and other similar blocks
  • porcelain products*
  • ceramic wall and floor tiles
  • roof tiles
  • grout, mortar, and render
  • plasterboard
  • engineered stone products with trace levels of crystalline silica (less than 1% by weight)
  • sintered stone*.

*Porcelain products and sintered stone are excluded from the prohibition if the product does not contain resin.

Finished engineered stone products (such as jewellery, garden ornaments, sculptures, kitchen sinks) which do not require processing or modification are excluded from the ban.

The prohibition does not apply to natural stone benchtops, panels, or slabs. For example, a granite benchtop is not prohibited.

Working with legacy (already installed) engineered stone

If you are undertaking any removal, repair, minor modification, or disposal of legacy engineered stone that requires processing, you need to notify SafeWork NSW of the estimated processing work over the next 12 months. Any work that involves processing of legacy engineered stone must be controlled.

Processing, in relation to legacy engineered stone, means using a power tool or other mechanical plant (for example a crusher) to crush, cut, grind, trim, sand, abrasive polish or drill the stone.

Examples of work with legacy engineered stone where notification is required include:

  • a worker repairs a crack in an engineered stone benchtop installed in a kitchen. To repair the engineered stone, a worker needs to fill the crack with liquid resin and use power tools to level and re-polish the engineered stone.
  • a worker creates a hole in a splashback to install a new power point. The worker uses a power drill to create the hole.
  • a worker needs to use a power tool to remove a large, engineered stone bench top, so it can be disposed of.

You must notify SafeWork NSW if you intend to carry out permitted work with legacy engineered stone which involves controlled processing.

Find out more about legacy stone and how to notify SafeWork NSW.

Types of engineered stone work Ban requirements
Repair, modify, remove, and dispose of engineered stone that does not require processing. Permitted.
Repair, modify, remove, and dispose of engineered stone that does require processing.

Permitted but only if worker is supplied with and using RPE and processing is controlled with:

  1. effective on tool extraction system, and/or
  2. effective water delivery system for dust suppression, and/ or
  3. local exhaust ventilation system

AND SafeWork NSW is notified.

The taking of a sample that involves processing to identify engineered stone or genuine research and analysis.

Permitted but only if worker is supplied with and using RPE and processing is controlled with:

  1. effective on tool extraction system, and/or
  2. effective water delivery systems for dust suppression, and/or
  3. local exhaust ventilation system.

Exemptions

In NSW you may apply for an exemption for a product prohibited under the engineered stone ban under clause 689B of the WHS Regulation.

The exemption process is outlined in Safe Work Australia’s Exemption from the engineered stone ban – Flowchart. To progress your application for an exemption, you must first consult with the Safe Work Australia members who represent the interests of employers and workers in Australia (referred to as social partners). After consultation with the social partners, you can progress your application to SafeWork NSW.

SafeWork NSW will then provide the application documents to other states and territories, inviting them to make a submission in respect of the exemption application.

Your application will be considered having regard to all relevant matters outlined in clause 689D of the WHS Regulation. If satisfied that granting an exemption will result in a standard of health and safety that is at least equivalent to the standard that would have been achieved without the exemption, SafeWork NSW may grant the exemption.

To find out more about the exemption application process and the application requirements, see SafeWork Australia’s Guide for Applicants for Exemptions.

Information for consumers

Engineered stone is widely used in kitchen and bathroom benchtops, as panels and slabs. It is safe once installed so long as it remains undisturbed (for example, no processing work is carried out to remove, repair or modify it).

There is no need to remove engineered stone from homes or workplaces as it does not pose health risks if left undisturbed.

It is important not to undertake do it yourself (DIY) work with engineered stone benchtops, slabs or panels. Cutting, grinding, trimming, drilling, sanding or polishing can generate silica dust that can be harmful when inhaled. Contact a qualified tradesperson instead.

Download the Engineered stone ban information for consumers fact sheet (PDF, 758.25 KB)

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