DPI Update (Issue 33)

National Mine Safety Framework

Consultations are underway across Australia to develop the National Mine Safety Framework – a mechanism that will deliver a consistent set of mine health and safety regulations across Australia.

Key stakeholder groups within the mining industry, comprising workforce, industry and State, Territory and Australian Government representatives, are working together to develop and implement strategies to achieve consistency in mining health and safety regulations across Australia.

The National Mine Safety Framework is the mechanism to deliver this goal. The Framework identifies seven strategies aimed at achieving national consistency. These strategies focus on key areas where consistency across all jurisdictions would be most beneficial.

We need your input on the strategies currently under development. This is your chance to have your say in the laws that affect you!

So what is the National Mine Safety Framework?

The National Mine Safety Framework is an initiative of the Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources. The Ministerial Council consists of State, Territory and Australian Government Ministers with responsibility for mineral and petroleum resources. It is a key policy making body for issues affecting this industry Australia wide. The Framework was initially developed by the Chief Inspectors of Mines, a subcommittee of the Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources. They are the most senior technical officers with regulatory responsibility for mining operations in the States and Northern Territory of Australia.

The seven strategies of the Framework are: nationally consistent legislation, competency development, compliance support, enforcement, data collection, consultation, and research.

In 2005, the Ministerial Council established a tripartite Steering Group, with representatives from the workforce, industry and State, Territory and Australian Governments, to guide the development and implementation of the Framework. The Hon Clive Brown, former Western Australian Minister for Trade and State Development, chairs the Steering Group.

The Steering Group would like to hear your views on three key strategies: nationally consistent legislation, data collection and consultation.

What can you do?

Visit National Mine Safety Framework website, where you can read more about the National Mine Safety Framework and the three key strategies, and use the on-line submission forms to express your views.

Help get the word out to others. We can only reach so many – so we need your help to ensure that everyone is given the chance to have their say. Please circulate this newsletter to others affected by these laws, and to those who can help spread the word even further.

Posters/fliers can be downloaded to print and display at your workplace, to inform others of the opportunity to have their say. Online submissions close on 20 July. Don’t miss the chance to have your say in the laws that affect you!

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