Employers are required by law to provide health monitoring to workers who are at risk of being exposed to asbestos while on the job, prior to commencing asbestos removal work or ongoing asbestos related work. This includes licensed asbestos removalists and assessors who are wearing full personal protective equipment.
Health monitoring should also be provided to workers at regular intervals (at least once every two years) after the worker commences asbestos-related work where there is a risk of exposure to asbestos.
A copy of the health monitoring report must be provided to SafeWork NSW where the report contains:
Notifications of an adverse health monitoring report should be made using the “Notification of an adverse health monitoring report”.
From 1 July 2020, a penalty applies for failure by a business (PCBU) to notify SafeWork NSW of an adverse health monitoring report.
Under the model WHS Regulations, health monitoring reports must be kept as a confidential record for at least 30 years after they are made. For asbestos-related health monitoring the period is at least 40 years, because asbestos diseases can take decades to develop. Records must not be disclosed without the worker’s written consent, except in limited cases such as giving a copy to the regulator.
A time-weighted average (TWA) is the average airborne concentration of a substance over an 8-hour working day in a 5-day week. A short-term exposure limit (STEL) is a 15-minute average that must not be exceeded at any time during the day, even if the full-day average is within the TWA. Note that Australia moves from workplace exposure standards to workplace exposure limits (WEL) on 1 December 2026.
Common physical hazards include noise, vibration from tools and plant, UV radiation from the sun, heat, dust such as silica and asbestos, and manual handling. Several of these can be checked through health monitoring, for example hearing tests for noise, spirometry and chest imaging for silica, and skin checks for outdoor workers.
It depends on the tasks. Workers cutting or grinding concrete, stone or brick may need silica health monitoring, workers disturbing asbestos need asbestos health monitoring, and workers who must wear hearing protection need audiometric testing. Employees Health can combine these into one onsite program for your crews, anywhere in Australia.
Yes, in some cases. A PCBU must give the regulator a copy of a health monitoring report as soon as practicable if it advises that the worker may have contracted a disease, injury or illness from the work, or recommends remedial measures. In NSW, a penalty applies for failing to notify SafeWork NSW of an adverse report.
