The workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable coal dust has been reduced from 3 mg/m³ to 1.5 mg/m³.

Safe Work Australia is consulting on the proposed workplace exposure limits (WEL) for 9 chemicals (benzene, chlorine, copper, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide respirable crystalline silica, titanium dioxide).

Safe Work Australia is seeking feedback on the impacts of proposed workplace exposure limits for 9 chemicals. The consultation aims to gather information on the economic, social and health impacts of the proposed exposure limit for each chemical.

Work health and safety (WHS) ministers have agreed to the new WEL list and a harmonised transition period ending on 30 November 2026. This change comes after extensive work and consultation to revise the Workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants (WES). 

This document is the list

This page provides resources and further information for persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) and workers on the workplace exposure standards (WES), workplace exposure limits (WEL) and the WES review.

There are several changes between the Workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants (WES list) and the

From 1 December 2026 Australia will adopt the Workplace

Work Health and Safety Ministers have agreed to an immediate reduction to the workplace exposure standard (WES) for welding fumes (not otherwise classified) has been reduced from an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA) of 5 mg/m

The workplace exposure standard (WES) for welding fumes (not otherwise classified) has been reduced from 5 mg/m³ to 1 mg/m³.

Safe Work Australia is seeking to understand whether certain chemicals, which are non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens (NTGCs), are present in Australian workplaces, in what quantities and for what purpose.

Safe Work Australia is seeking to understand whether non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens (NTGCs) are present in Australian workplaces, in what quantities, and for what purpose. 

Safe Work Australia is seeking stakeholder feedback on a proposed workplace exposure standard (WES) for the diesel particulate matter (DPM) component of diesel engine emissions (DEE).

Safe Work Australia is seeking feedback on a proposed workplace exposure standard for diesel particulate matter.

The workplace exposure standard (WES) for coal dust (containing less than five per cent quartz) (respirable dust) has been reduced from 3 mg/m³ to 1.5 mg/m³.

Information about research into lowering the workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica (RCS).

This report investigates whether a short term exposure limit (STEL) should be implemented to complement the workplace exposure standard (WES) of 0.05 mg/m³ for respirable crystalline silica.

This report investigates the challenges of measuring airborne concentrations of respirable crystalline silica in Australian workplaces at and below 0.02 mg/m³.

Use this guide if you manage diesel exhaust exposures at the workplace.

Exposure to diesel exhaust can cause eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, and suffocation. Long-term exposure can:

This guide helps doctors monitor the health of workers exposed to isocyanates.  

Isocyanates are a group of highly reactive, organic compounds of the formula R-N=C=O.  

This Decision Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is the result of Safe Work Australia’s review of the current toxicological information and overseas trends in the regulation of lead in the workplace.

Developed to provide laboratories and analysts with a consistent methodology for the sampling and analysis of airborne asbestos fibres in workplaces.

Use this guide if you manage risks to workers exposed to diesel exhaust at the workplace, including: 

• drive-in booth operators 

• miners 

• construction workers 

• oil and gas workers 

This document outlines the chemicals that will be added to and removed from the 

This document outlines the criteria for how to find hazardous chemicals that could be added to or removed from the 

The eight-hour time weighted average workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is 0.05 mg/m³.

If you are a person conducting a business or undertaking and you store, handle or use hazardous chemicals, you must put up signs to let workers and visitors know about the dangers of the hazardous chemical.  

Lead is a hazard to worker health and safety. Learn about lead in the workplace and the health effects from working with it. 

Hazardous chemicals can be dangerous if they are not properly managed.  

Inorganic lead (lead) and lead compounds are found in many workplaces.

Australia has transitioned to the 7th Revised Edition of the GHS (GHS 7), which includes some changes to hazardous chemical classifications and precautionary statements. 

Chemicals are any substance that has a defined composition. The information provided here relates to manufactured chemicals and how to manage them. 

This report provides detailed information about:

This document outlines the criteria to assign a skin notation to a chemical. 

This document is about a new notation for ‘immediately dangerous to life or health’ (IDLH) in the 

This information is on the 

This document outlines the chemicals that will be added to and removed from the workplace exposure standards (WES) list. 

You can also see the: 

This document details primary and secondary sources of health-based data used to inform recommendations for workplace exposure standards (WES) for hazardous chemicals and sources for recommendations for notations.

Supporting information

This document outlines the criteria for how to find hazardous chemicals that could be added to or removed from the 

This document identifies appropriate domestic and international sources that support the

This document is about a process to recommend health-based values and advisory notations for chemicals in the 

Use this guide to manage the risks of isocyanates at your workplace. 

Isocyanates are hazardous chemicals used in manufacturing materials, like: 

Use this guide if you work with refractory ceramic fibres (RCF) or high biopersistence fibres and need to manage the health and safety risks to workers.