New safety regulator for Qld resources industry given green light

Introduction

The Resources Safety and Health Act 2020 (Qld) was enacted on 19 March 2020. The Act sees the introduction of a new independent regulatory authority focused on the safety and health of resources workers in Queensland.

The Bill (which became the Act) was introduced on 4 September 2019 in response to recommendations made by the Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Select Committee (Committee). The Committee was established in 2016 in response to the re-identification of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis (CWP) in Queensland in 2015 (CWP is a type of fibrotic lung disease, caused by the inhalation of coal mine dust).¹ The Committee was tasked with analysing the legislative and regulatory arrangements of government and industry that had resulted in the re-identification of CWP cases, as well as creating solutions to combat the failures in the current system.