“The Palaszczuk Government is leading Australia in protecting workers in the construction and housing industry from the dangers of silica dust,” said Chris Whiting MP.

The Palaszczuk Government’s Australian-first Code of Practice for managing the risk of silica dust in construction and manufacturing commences on Monday 1 May.

“We want all workers to come home safely at the end of each day and be protected from deadly risks in the workplace,” said Chris Whiting MP.

“Since 2018 the Palaszczuk Government has led the nation in responding to the health risks of silica exposure.

“We listened to workers and unions as they raised concerns about silicosis in the engineered stone industry.

“The Palaszczuk Government acted immediately to issue an urgent safety warning about the serious risks of working with engineered stone and to ban all dry cutting of engineered stone.

“More recently, Minister Grace has publicly supported in principle a national review into an import ban on high risk engineered stone.

“The Code of Practice for managing the risk of silica dust was developed in consultation with unions, employers and technical experts.

“The dust control methods contained in the code are based on extensive data evidence and applies to all construction work as well as the manufacturing of building materials that contain crystalline silica.

“I am proud the Palaszczuk Government has been able to build on our strong record of making safer workplaces.

“Controlling the dangers of silica dust will mean longer lives for many Queenslanders,” said Chris Whiting MP.

The Code is designed to protect Queensland workers from exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS or silica dust) – known to cause the deadly disease silicosis.

It provides minimum, legally enforceable, standards to eliminate or minimise exposure to silica dust.

More information about the Managing Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Exposure in Construction and the Manufacturing of Construction Elements Code of Practice can be found here.