Aviation workplaces in Australia include airports, maintenance hangars, aircraft painting and component workshops, fuel farms, freight terminals and ground handling operations. Ground-based aviation workers can face a mix of chemical, physical and shift-related hazards.
Common hazards for aviation workers include:
Under the model WHS Regulations, health monitoring must be provided where a worker carries out ongoing work with a Schedule 14 hazardous chemical and there is a significant risk to their health. Workers who are frequently required to wear hearing protection must have audiometric testing. In aviation, this may include:
Who is included should be based on your risk assessment and exposure monitoring results.
Employees Health doctors design monitoring around the hazards on your site. Depending on exposure, a program may include:
Audiometric testing must be provided within three months of a worker starting work where they frequently need hearing protection, and at least every two years after that. Baseline and periodic hearing tests help identify noise-induced hearing loss early.
For isocyanates, Schedule 14 monitoring includes medical and occupational history, a standardised respiratory questionnaire, physical examination of the respiratory system and skin, and spirometry (FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC). Learn more about isocyanate health monitoring.
Where chromate primers are used, monitoring includes a history, a physical examination focused on the respiratory system and skin, and regular skin checks of the hands and forearms; urinary chromium may also be considered. For fuels and solvents, monitoring may include a history, examination and blood or urine tests relevant to the substances involved. See our solvent exposure medicals page.
Employees Health can deliver aviation health monitoring onsite at capital city airports, regional aerodromes, maintenance bases and remote airstrips anywhere in Australia, or workers can attend one of our clinics. We schedule around flight schedules, maintenance windows and rotating rosters, including night shift, so assessments fit operations. A baseline assessment before exposed work starts gives a reference point for later results.
Employees Health provides workplace health monitoring for aviation workers. Aviation medical certificates for pilots and air traffic controllers are issued under the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) system through Designated Aviation Medical Examiners (DAMEs) and are separate from WHS health monitoring.
The PCBU must inform workers about health monitoring, arrange for it to be carried out by or under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring, and pay for it. Health monitoring works alongside controls such as spray booths, ventilation, supplied-air respirators, hearing protection and fatigue management. We can help you identify which workers and tests apply. This is practical support, not legal advice; check the requirements of your state or territory WHS regulator.
Individual medical results remain confidential. The supervising doctor provides a health monitoring report to the employer covering whether the worker can continue the work and any recommended changes to controls, and workers receive their own results. Health monitoring records must be kept confidentially for at least 30 years.
To arrange health monitoring for aviation workers, call 1300 880 804, email our team or contact our team.
It depends on the role. Aircraft maintenance, refuelling and painting staff can be exposed to jet fuel, solvents, isocyanate paints, hydraulic fluids and high noise, which may trigger health monitoring under the WHS Regulations. Employees Health can design a program for hangar, ramp and workshop teams and deliver it onsite at airports anywhere in Australia.
Where a worker must wear hearing protection to protect them from noise above the exposure standard, the model WHS Regulations require audiometric testing within 3 months of starting that work and then at least every 2 years. For ground crew and engineers working around running aircraft, testing on a regular cycle helps pick up changes in hearing early.
No. CASA Class 1, 2 and 3 medical certificates relate to licence holders such as pilots and air traffic controllers, and assess fitness to exercise the privileges of that licence. Workplace health monitoring is a separate WHS obligation for workers exposed to hazards such as chemicals or noise, so some aviation workers may need both.
Aircraft coatings are often two-part polyurethane paints containing isocyanates, which are listed in Schedule 14 of the model WHS Regulations. Workers with significant exposure need health monitoring that includes a respiratory questionnaire, examination of the respiratory system and skin, and lung function testing.
Yes. Onsite sessions can be scheduled across shifts, including early mornings and nights, so staff can be assessed without leaving the airport. Employees Health can also coordinate assessments across multiple airports and regional bases.
