From 1 July 2024, work health and safety legislation across the various states and territories in Australia were changed to bring into effect a ban on the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of certain types of engineered stone products, namely engineered stone benchtops panels and slabs. Each state has made its own changes to work health and safety laws to implement the ban.
Engineered stone is defined as an artificial product that contains silica and is a composite material made of crushed stone bound together by an adhesive to create a solid surface. Most commonly the product is used for indoor flooring and walls as well as for kitchen benchtops as an affordable alternative to laminate or granite. The product has increased in popularity in recent years.
The material is made in a factory in either blocks or slabs and cut to size and polished by workers.
The ban on engineered stone has been introduced in response to increasing rates of silicosis and silica related diseases in Australian workers in recent years with a particular increase in diagnoses amongst in workers working the popular product.
The ban on engineered stone comes after a long campaign supported by medical practitioners, doctors, trade unions and workers in response to compelling evidence from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations indicating that working with engineered stone produces the potentially deadly silica dust heightening the risk of silicosis and other diseases such as silica induced lung cancer.
Safework Australia has drafted amendments to the federal model Work Health and Safety Regulations which have been implemented in each state's work health and safety laws. In NSW this means amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 in the form of the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Engineered Stone) Regulation 2024.
It is important to note that the legislative changes only place a complete ban on engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs. Other engineered stone products and other silica containing products, for example sandstone building products, remain legal in NSW.
Additionally, the legislative changes allow for a transitional period until the end of the year, allowing employers the opportunity to fulfill existing contracts for the installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs for those contracts entered into before 31 December 2023.
Whilst the amendments to the legislation banning certain types of engineered stone products are a step in the right direction, there has always been a legal obligation on all employers to protect their employees from the risks associated exposure to silica dust.
Should you have experienced exposure to the potentially deadly dust during the course of your employment please do contact us for legal advice.
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