Safety (Issue 36)

NSW Mine Health and Safety Regulation 2007

Members who have interstate operations may be interested to know that the NSW Mine Health & Safety Regulation 2007 has been released to support the NSW Mine Health & Safety Act 2004.

A key requirement for mine holders is to nominate a mine operator, who must be the employer with day-to-day control of the mine operation. The Metalliferous Mines an Extractive Industries Board will issue of certificates of competence with respect to the functions of production managers.

The new legislation will assist to ensure the health, safety and welfare of people working in the NSW metalliferous, extractive and opal mining industries. Duties under the NSW MHS Act 2004 and NSW MHS Regulation 2007 will commence on 1 September 2008, at which time the NSW Mines Inspection Act 1901 and NSW Mines Inspection General Rule 2000 will be repealed.

The NSW Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000 and NSW Occupational Health & Safety Regulation 2001 are the primary legislation dealing with health, safety and welfare at work across all industries in NSW. The NSW MHS Act 2004 and NSW MHS Regulation 2007 supplement the NSW OHS Act and NSW OHS Regulation and set out safety requirements specifically for the metalliferous, extractives and opal mining sectors and have been created with input from the mining industry and in consultation with industry stakeholders.

Visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au for further information

Duties of Principle Contractors

The revised Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 have a new chapter covering construction work. From July 2008, this will apply to all construction works with a value greater than $250,000 including new crushing plants.

In such cases, it will become a legal requirement to have nominated a ‘principle contractor’ (the business owner or another appointed person) whose duties include:

• Post signage outside the workplace, showing the principal contractor’s name and phone number; and
• Prepare a health and safety coordination plan, keep it up to date and make it available for inspection.

The ‘Health and Safety Coordination Plan’ will need to include things such as:

• The names, positions and responsibilities of all people who have specific responsibilities for health and safety.
• The arrangements for co-ordinating the health and safety of everyone who is engaged to do construction work.
• The arrangements for managing OHS incidents.
• Any site safety rules including consultation and communication procedures.

Templates to assist are being developed and will be available from the WorkSafe website once released

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