Work Health and Safety Amendment (Silica Worker Register) Regulation 2025
This section references the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017, which has since been remade as the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025. Any references to clauses of the 2017 Regulation should now be read as references to the corresponding sections in the 2025 Regulation where applicable.
The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Silica Worker Register) Regulation 2025 (Amendment Regulation) comes into effect from 1 October 2025. It makes several amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (the Regulation).
This follows the introduction of the Work Health and Safety Amendment Act 2023, which introduced sections 273A and 273B of the Work Health Safety Act 2011. These sections provide regulation making powers for SafeWork NSW to establish and keep a silica worker register (the Register), in accordance with the regulations.
The purpose of establishing the Register, which is an online portal, is to increase the health screening of workers that undertake processing of crystalline silica substances (CSS) that is high risk. Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) are required to register all workers undertaking that processing. The Register will also assist SafeWork NSW in providing advice, information, education and training in relation to work health and safety.
The Amendment Regulation includes the following provisions:
- That PCBUs are required to provide prescribed information for inclusion on the Register. For example, information about workers who are carrying out the processing of a CSS that is high risk, information about the PCBU, information about the processing of CSS that is high risk, including whether the processing involves or is associated with tunnelling, and information about health monitoring provided to workers.
- That this information must be provided to SafeWork NSW via the Register, as soon as reasonably practicable and no more than 28 days from the date that processing of CSS that is high risk commences.
- That the offence of failing to provide the required information to SafeWork NSW is a penalty notice offence.
- That PCBUs required to undertake health monitoring under an order made under the Coal Industry Act 2001 are exempt from the requirement to provide information for inclusion on the Register.
- That information on the Register can be accessed and used by the Workers Compensation (Dust Diseases) Authority.
- That the information on the Register may be used for specified purposes, including monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011and Regulation, and NSW workers’ compensation legislation; and to give advice, information, education, and training in relation to work health and safety; and providing health monitoring services to eligible workers.
- That information may be shared between SafeWork NSW and the Workers Compensation (Dust Diseases) Authority for the purposes of monitoring compliance with health monitoring requirements.
The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Silica Worker Register) Regulation 2025 can be found on the NSW Legislation website at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au