Fatigue
Fatigue is a complex, multifaceted hazard with considerable impacts to a worker’s capacity to perform duties safely, creating a foreseeable risk of error, incident, or injury. Furthermore, fatigue exposure can also increase the risk of chronic health conditions and psychological health.
Fatigue hazards can arise from factors such as extended work hours, night or rotating shifts, inadequate rest breaks, high workloads, physically or mentally demanding tasks, travel arrangements (including FIFO/DIDO), sleep disruption, environmental conditions, or insufficient recovery time. It can build up over time or occur suddenly and is a serious work safety and health risk across many industries.
Managing fatigue is essential to keeping workers safe and maintaining productive worksites.
Guidance note
QGN16 Guidance Note for Fatigue Risk Management (PDF, 2MB) supports mine and quarry duty holders in meeting their obligations under Queensland’s resources safety and health legislation. It outlines recommended practices and minimum expectations for managing risks associated with relevant operations, providing practical direction to help ensure compliance and promote safe, consistent outcomes across industry.
Fatigue management project
Following a comprehensive review conducted by RSHQ into the current state of fatigue risk management in Queensland’s resources industry, RSHQ is undertaking a fatigue management project to strengthen approaches to managing this critical safety and health risk. This will include 5 components:
- Proactive regulation – Delivering a program of targeted fatigue audits across industry
- Jurisdictional clarity – Clarifying RSHQ’s role in commuting incidents
- Regulatory response – Strengthen RSHQ’s response to fatigue-related incidents
- Reporting and data – Improve fatigue-related data collection, analysis, and reporting
- Legislation and guidance – Enhance understanding of industry engagement with fatigue guidance material.
Further information will be communicated about each component as the project progresses. However, the overall project aims to deliver stronger fatigue risk management outcomes across the resources industry by improving industry understanding and application of effective fatigue risk management, strengthening reporting and data, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
RSHQ is taking a consultative approach, liaising with industry to understand best practice, share insights and support improvement in fatigue risk management. We recognise industry holds valuable expertise and experience, which will be central to shaping practical and effective fatigue risk management approaches.
While the focus is on education and improvement, RSHQ will continue to take enforcement action in line with the RSHQ Compliance and Enforcement Policy (PDF).
More information
-
About the review
The Fatigue in Queensland’s resources industry: Current state review (PDF, 4MB) presents the findings of RSHQ’s review of fatigue risk management in the Queensland resources industry.The review aimed to increase RSHQ’s understanding of the effectiveness of industry controls in managing fatigue and examined:
- the extent to which fatigue poses a risk across the Queensland resources industry, including intersectionality with other hazards
- the current regulatory approach applied to fatigue by RSHQ and in other jurisdictions
- benchmarks of effective contemporary fatigue risk management in resources and related industries.
A comprehensive review methodology was applied, integrating academic literature, incident and complaint data, regulatory frameworks, government resources, grey and white literature and stakeholder consultation, including semi-structured interviews and forums.
What happens next
RSHQ is using the findings from this review to inform the fatigue management project to:- strengthen its understanding of fatigue risks and controls
- inform ongoing regulatory approaches
- work with industry to identify opportunities for improvement over time.
-
As part of the proactive regulation component of the fatigue management project, RSHQ will undertake an assessment of industry’s obligations to manage risks associated with worker fatigue across Queensland’s resources industry.
The assessment aims to inform and support ongoing improvement of fatigue risk management through engagement and education, and ensure statutory obligations are being met.
Scope
Through a combination of on-site and off-site audits across mine, quarry and petroleum and gas operators in Queensland, RSHQ will assess how sites:- identify and assess fatigue hazards, including work hours, rosters, task demands and sleep opportunity
- implement, monitor and review control measures to prevent or reduce fatigue‑related risks
- consult and engage with workers regarding fatigue and work‑related fatigue risks
- integrate fatigue risk management into their safety and health management system (SHMS)
- monitor the effectiveness of fatigue controls and use data and indicators to support continuous improvement.
Audit methodology
1. Site selection
A range of sites across mine, quarry and petroleum and gas sectors will be selected for assessment.
2. Assessment
Through on-site and off-site audits, RSHQ will assess how fatigue hazards are identified, assessed and managed, including how controls are implemented, reviewed and embedded into broader safety and health systems.
QGN 16 Guidance Note for Fatigue Risk Management (PDF, 2MB) provides information to assist with managing the risks of fatigue and will also inform RSHQ’s approach to assessment.
3. Outcomes
Sites will receive information about their audit findings. Where necessary, steps may be taken in accordance with the RSHQ Compliance and Enforcement Policy .
4. Sharing learnings
At the conclusion of the assessments, RSHQ will share learnings with industry and stakeholders through a report and other engagement opportunities.
Last updated: 07 Jul 2026