Public consultation

Following a recommendation from the Queensland Mines Inspectorate, a Recognised Standard Tripartite Working Group (RSTWG) was formed to review the Recognised Standard for tyre, wheel and rim management (RS13).

The RSTWG considered feedback received during the first consultation period between 23 June 2023 and 1 August 2023. The updated draft is now available for review via the below link. Please send feedback to QldMinesInspectorate@rshq.qld.gov.au.

Consultation closes 5 pm Thursday 21 December 2023.

• Proposed Recognised Standard for Tyre, wheel and rim management.

Following a recommendation from the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry, a Recognised Standard Tripartite Working Group (RSTWG) was formed to review the Recognised Standard for control of risk management practices (RS02).

Submissions from industry were received through two consultation periods between 7 June 2023 and 6 July 2023 and 11 October 2023 and 6 November 2023. The RSTWG is now considering the latest feedback and will provide the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee (CMSHAC) the proposed RS02.

Following a recommendation from the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry, the Recognised Standard Tripartite Working Group (RSTWG) has formed to draft the Recognised Standard (RS) for spontaneous combustion management in underground coal mines.

Feedback was received from stakeholders between 21 September 2023 and 27 October 2023. A further round of consultation will commence once the RSTWG have considered this feedback.

Resources Safety and Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2023

This Bill includes proposed legislative amendments for the Queensland government approved policy position established in the Decision Regulatory Impact Statement (DRIS). The DRIS outlines a comprehensive package of regulatory safety and health reforms that aim to reduce serious accidents and fatalities, support the Queensland resources sector to implement approaches consistent with High Reliability Organisation (HRO) theory and respond to findings of independent reviews.

Drafts of the proposed legislation and supporting documents are now available for consultation via the links below. The indicative reprints represent what the proposed amendments would look like in the various Acts.

The Feedback template form can be used to provide your feedback and emailed to policy@rshq.qld.gov.au upon completion.

Consultation closes 5 pm Friday 10 November 2023.

• Information paper: Proposed amendments to the Resources Safety Acts
• Draft only: Resources Safety and Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2023
• Draft only: Resources Safety and Health Amendment Regulation 2023
• Indicative reprint only: Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999
• Indicative reprint only: Explosives Act 1999
• Indicative reprint only: Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004
• Indicative reprint only: Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999
• Feedback template form

The proposed reforms were presented for initial consultation in the Facilitating High-Reliability Organisation behaviours in Queensland’s Resources Sector and Modernising Regulatory Enforcement consultation regulatory impact statement (CRIS).

More information about the next stages of the project is provided below. Please note all timeframes are subject to change due to Government and Parliamentary process.

Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) is reviewing the Competency standard for petroleum and gas well drilling and well servicing to ensure its relevance and effectiveness within the industry.

RSHQ has appointed a team from the University of Queensland led by Professor Maureen Hassall to facilitate the next stages of the review process.

Next steps for the team are:

• Assessing stakeholder feedback to the discussion paper
• Conducting a literature review
• Developing a maturity model for regulators of worker safety and health at drilling and well servicing rigs

This information will inform a series of industry workshops proposed for November 2023.

What’s happened so far:

A discussion paper was published in late July 2023. Feedback was sought from interested parties including:

• rig workers and supervisors
• holders of petroleum tenure
• operators of drilling operating plant (drilling and well servicing contractors)
• training professionals who conduct drilling and well servicing related training under the Resources and Infrastructure Industry training package.

Eleven submissions were received. One respondent asked for their submission not to be published. The remaining 10 submissions can be accessed here.

Should you have any inquiries or require further information regarding the competency framework review, please email gasSafe@rshq.qld.gov.au.

RSHQ is seeking feedback from chest X-ray providers and radiologists on the draft revised Standards for acquiring digital chest radiography images for medical surveillance of Queensland mine and quarry workers (Chest X-ray standards).

The Chest X-ray standards were developed in 2017, in response to the re-identification of mine dust lung disease. The draft revised Chest X-ray standards incorporate technological advances and learnings from various audits, updated legislation and standards, and stakeholder feedback received since initial implementation, including:

• Inclusion of mineral mine and quarry workers, who must undergo respiratory health surveillance, including a chest X-ray performed in accordance with the Chest X-ray standards, under the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Regulation 2017.
• Updated references to the latest versions of the RANZCR Standards of Practice for Clinical Radiology and the International Labour Organisation Guidelines for the use of the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses 2022.
• Requirement to use digital radiography (DR) imaging equipment.
• Removal of information that is only relevant to computed radiography imaging equipment not for DR imaging equipment, for example, certain equipment terminology, maintenance requirements, quality checks and techniques.
• Clarification that chest X-ray images should be ILO quality 1 or 2, as determined in the single final ILO Classification report, that has included the chest X-ray image being read by at least two NIOSH certified B-Readers.
• Additional information on common image quality issues, including example chest X-ray images.

You are invited to provide feedback on the draft revised Chest X-ray standards by email to minershealth@rshq.qld.gov.au. Responses are due by 5pm 11 August 2023.

For further information or enquiries, please email minershealth@rshq.qld.gov.au.

RSHQ is seeking feedback on options to clarify obligations to manage psychosocial hazards in the Queensland resources industry.

Options include modest clarifying amendments to Queensland’s resources safety and health legislation, to provide clarity about operators’ obligations to protect workers from physical and psychological health risks from psychosocial hazards.

Proposed changes would align with Queensland’s general work health and safety laws and those in other Australian jurisdictions which address the management of risks arising from psychosocial hazards.

For further details regarding the proposed options, please read the discussion paper.

Feedback on the discussion paper can be provided via email to minershealth@rshq.qld.gov.au. Responses are due by 5pm on Friday 4 August 2023.

RSHQ may publish feedback and responses in full on its website, unless the feedback or response is clearly provided in confidence. Material provided in confidence should be clearly marked as confidential.

For further information or enquiries, please email minershealth@rshq.qld.gov.au.