This article applies to organisations that operate, carry on business or are contractors at a mine in Queensland.

Resources Safety and Health Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld)

On 1 September 2024, the Resources Safety and Health Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld) (the Amending Act) amended the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) (the Coal Mining Act), the Explosives Act 1999 (Qld) (the Explosives Act), the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) (the Mining and Quarrying Act), and the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld) (the Petroleum and Gas Act).

What’s changed?

The key changes made by the Amending Act are:

• the expanded meaning of “employer” in relation to a coal mine;
• new notification requirements for reporting of prescribed incidents;
• reporting requirements for changes in management structures at a mine; and
• keeping of records and display of reports and directives.

Further Information

Duties on employers to be present at mine

The definition of employer has now been expanded to include those who arrange for a worker to work for the mine (such as a labour hire agency), the operator of the mine or the holder for the mine.

Under section 38 of the Mining and Quarrying Act, operators for a mine are required to ensure that the senior executive or the acting site senior executive for the mine is located at the mine or located near the mine when they are performing their duties as site senior executive.

There are two exceptions to the requirement above:

• in the event where the duties of the site senior executive or acting site senior executive requires them to be temporarily absent from the mine; or
• in the event where the site senior executive or acting site senior executive is temporarily absent on leave.

However, the exceptions above can only happen for no more than 14 days.

New safety and health requirements

Workers refers to an individual who carries out work at the mine such as an employee of the operator, a contractor and an employee of a contractor.

Under section 43 of the Coal Mining Act and section 40 of the Mining and Quarrying Act, contractors for a mine must make sure that their workers have been inducted in the mine’s safety and health management system before they perform any work at the mine. The induction must be related to that worker’s duties and responsibilities.

Additionally, workers must receive training about the hazards and risks when it comes to working in the mine that relates to their work at the mine.

Also, the site senior executive must have a copy of the safety and health management system available for inspection by workers and ROC workers employed at the mine, as required under section 55 of the Mining and Quarrying Act. Breach of this can result in a penalty of 100 penalty units (currently, $16,130).

Moreover, section 60 of the Mining and Quarrying Act requires the site senior executive to display a copy of each document listed below:

• each directive currently applying at the mine;
• each report of an inspection carried out in the mine; and
• each publication of information under section 254C of the Mining and Quarrying Act that may be relevant to safety and health obligations at the mine

When displaying the copies of the documents listed above, it must be displayed in a way where it will likely come to the attention of the workers at the mine who are affected by the contents of the documents. If a worker requests training, then the senior site executive must provide the training within 30 days of the request being made.

Similarly, if a worker requests the senior site executive provide them with a training and assessment report, then the operator of the mine must provide the report within 30 days after the request was made.

General Safety for workers

Under section 36A of the Mining and Quarrying Act, workers, other persons, and ROC workers for a mine are responsible for managing the risks of injury or illnesses to themselves and other persons, so that the risk is of an acceptable level. Workers must not work at the mine if the worker is not in a condition to carry on the works without affecting the safety and health of other workers and people at the mine.

Incidents involving explosives

Under section 56 of the Explosives Act, a relevant person for explosives involved in an explosives incident must as soon as possible after the incident, notify the chief inspector of the incident in the approved form.

Reporting of prescribed incidents

If a prescribed incident (meaning as prescribed by the regulations) occurs, then under section 706 of the Petroleum and Gas Act, the operator of a plant or the person that is carrying on the business must notify the chief inspector of the occurrence of that prescribed incident.

Notification must occur by telephone as soon as possible using the telephone number that is on the Queensland Government website. When giving notification by telephone, the operator is required to provide all relevant information about the prescribed incident.

If the operator does not know all the required information, then they must take all reasonable steps to find the information that is needed as soon as possible as well as provide that information to the chief inspector as soon as possible. Failure to do so can result in a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (currently, $16,130).

Required information means the information required by the approved form that is stated under section 706(4)(b) of the Petroleum and Gas Act.

In addition to the telephone notification, within two days after the prescribed incident occurs, the approved form must be filled out and given to the chief inspector.

Reporting of changes to management structures and operations

Site senior executives for a mine are required under section 56A of the Mining and Quarrying Act, to give a notice to the inspector for the region if there are any changes to the management structure at the mine. The notice must be given to the inspector for the region within 14 days after the changes have happened.

Failure to give notice can result in a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units (currently, $8,065).

In the event that the mine permanently stops operating, the operator of the mine is required give a notice to the inspector of the region within 28 days of the mine ceasing operation.

What you should do

Organisations should ensure that their staff are aware of the new safety and reporting obligations made by the Amending Act and ensure that workers are sufficiently trained before undergoing works in the mine. Organisations must ensure that their workers have easy access to the necessary documentation for safety purposes.