Specific duties for former engineered stone licence holders

Health monitoring

Employers must provide health monitoring if exposure to crystalline silica is likely to have an adverse effect on employees' health.

The purpose of the health monitoring is to monitor the employee's health to identify changes in the employee's health status due to exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace.

Where there is uncertainty about whether or not exposure is likely to have an adverse effect on employees' health, atmospheric monitoring should occur to determine employees' exposure to airborne contaminants when checked against the exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica.

Where health monitoring is required, it should be completed when:

• an employee is hired with a new employer (before they start work)
• regularly while they are in the job and
• when they finish working for that employer

Former engineered stone licence holders must continue to ensure the health monitoring is conducted under the supervision of a specialist, if they have an employee who:

• is required to have health monitoring under regulation 169 and
• was employed by them immediately before 1 July 2024 and
• was previously required to have health monitoring under the supervision of a specialist occupational and environmental physician, or specialist respiratory and sleep medicine physician

This means if you were previously required to provide health monitoring to workers because of their exposure to engineered stone dust, and that worker continues to require health monitoring because of exposure to respirable crystalline silica in the future, then you must ensure that health monitoring continues to be supervised by a specialist medical practitioner.

Former engineered stone licence holders must provide a copy of these health monitoring reports to WorkSafe within 30 days of being received.

A list of practitioners can be found on the Royal Australasian College of Physicians website.

Employers should speak to the occupational physician or respiratory and sleep medicine physician to ensure they have experience with silicosis and other silica dust diseases.

There are also other circumstances where employers are required to submit health monitoring reports to WorkSafe.

For more information about health monitoring requirements see Hazardous substance health monitoring report.

Statement of work

Employers who:

• held an engineered stone licence immediately before 1 July 2024 and
• employed an employee who worked with a manufactured composite stone material that contained resins and 40% or more crystalline silica

must give the employee a written statement that:

• specifies the period up until 1 July 2024 during which the employee worked with the manufactured composite stone material and
• advises the employee to have periodical health assessments and details of the types of tests that are relevant

Employers must provide this statement to the employee by 1 October 2024.

Working with engineered stone after 1 July 2024

Any work involving manufacturing, supply, processing or installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs is now banned.

Repairs, modifications, removal and disposal of engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs (legacy stone) installed prior to 1 July 2024 is permitted.

If you are performing this work, the OHS regulations require that you must use specific measures to control the risks associated with engineered stone. This work must also be treated as 'high risk crystalline silica work'.

You do not need a licence to work with legacy stone.

For more information see WorkSafe's guidance Working with engineered stone.