Mining Safety and Health
Resources Safety protects employees in the minerals industry by administering the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (WA) and Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 (WA).
Note that although some guidance material was prepared under the auspices of previous departments and divisions, it is still valid.
Please be aware, however, that our address and contact details may have changed. The Cloisters Square postal address must not be used for correspondence.
Page Index
Statutory and other reviews and reports
Enforcement and prosecution policy
Occupational Safety and Health Tribunal
Copies of act and regulations
Copies of the Act and associated regulations are only available from the State Law Publisher (external links provided below).
Hard copies of the Act and associated regulations are only available from the State Law Publisher.
Mines Safety and Inspection Levy Regulations 2010
The Mines Safety and Inspection Levy Regulations 2010 came into effect on 24 April 2010.
Copies of the regulations are only available from the State Law Publisher (external link provided below).
Further information is available in Gazette No 64 (2010), available on the State Law Publisher's website.
General duty of care
The legislation above defines standards of safety. Safety systems that meet these standards have to be developed by companies and made part of day-to-day work practice.
Resources Safety is using an approach that makes it the employer's responsibility to manage safety, known as the General duty of care in Western Australian mines (available below).
Instruments of declaration
Construction work at some mine sites may be subject to an "instrument of declaration", under which provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 apply rather than the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 or Mining Act 1978. Declarations are published in the Government Gazette, available from the State Law Publishers website.
Further information and a list of current instruments of declaration are available from the WorkSafe website.
Exemptions
Under the provisions of regulations 1.4 or 1.5 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995, an exemption from a specific regulation may be granted by the State Mining Engineer if he is satisfied that:
- there is substantial compliance with the requirement (r. 1.4) or
- compliance with the requirement would be unnecessary or impracticable (r. 1.5).
Although there is no requirement for a specific application form, a pro-forma is available to apply for an exemption. It is essential that the items listed are addressed in sufficient detail for the application to be assessed and a determination made. Additional information may be requested where required. You can view/download the pro forma application from the Forms - Mining Safety section.
General exemptions
The State Mining Engineer has issued the following general exemptions from the provisions of the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 (WA).
Codes of practice
Codes of practice endorsed by the Mining Industry Advisory Committee and approved by the Minister are provided below:
See also:
Welding Technology Institute's Health and Safety in Welding technical note (TN07). This technical note was approved (effective from 7 July 2006) by the then Minister for Employment Protection as a code of practice under section 93 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (WA).
Public comment sought on drilling code of practice draft
Resources Safety is seeking industry feedback on a draft code of practice for mineral exploration drilling.
Further information is available here.
The public comment period closes at 5 pm Friday, 30 March 2012.
Statutory and other reviews and reports
Reviews of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (WA) are provided below.
Kenner Report (2009)
A statutory review of the operation and effectiveness of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (WA) has been conducted by Commissioner S J Kenner of the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
The review was also required to take into account the:
- Areas of the legislation that could be improved, such as the application to rail safety, mine sites during construction and interaction with other occupational safety and health legislation
- Goals and strategies of the National Mine Safety Framework
- Recent "Hicks Report" on Feasibility Study of Resources Safety in Western Australia that recommended the introduction of a safety case regime into the mining industry
- Recommendations outstanding from the "Laing Report" in relation to the review of Parts 3 and 4 of the Act
- Recent review of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (WA) by Mr Richard Hooker.
Submissions closed on 31 January 2008. Commissioner Kenner's report was tabled in Parliament on 8 April 2009.
Laing Report (2003)
It is a requirement of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (MSIA) that a review of operation and effectiveness of the Act be undertaken as soon as is practicable after the expiration of 5 years from its commencement. The first review was conducted by R Laing in 2003.
Hicks Report (2007)
The Feasibility Study of Resources Safety in Western Australia was undertaken in 2006-07 by Mr Stuart Hicks, who reported to the then Minister for Employment Protection and Minister for Resources.
Hooker Report (2006)
It is a requirement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (WA) that a review of the Act’s operations be carried out on every fifth anniversary of its commencement. The Hooker Report is the fourth such review.
Ritter Report (2004)
On 15 July 2004, the then Minister for State Development appointed Mr Mark Ritter to conduct an inquiry into the occupational health and safety systems and practices of BHP Billiton Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron sites in Western Australia and related matters, and report on 12 November 2004.
Enforcement and prosecution policy
The enforcement and prosecution policy (provided below) applies to those acts and regulations administered by Resources Safety that relate to mining occupational safety and health and dangerous goods safety.
The primary focus of much of the legislation administered by Resources Safety is to ensure resources development in Western Australia is carried out in a way that is safe for employees and the public.
The legislation provides a range of enforcement and prosecution measures to help achieve this. When required, enforcement or prosecution action is taken in the public interest to protect people and the environment.
Occupational Safety and Health Tribunal
The Occupational Safety and Health Tribunal is established to deal with some administrative matters under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994.
Many of the functions to be carried out by the Tribunal were previously dealt with by safety and health magistrates. The Tribunal deals with matters such as:
- the review of a decision by the WorkSafe Commissioner or the State Mining Engineer on the review of a prohibition or improvement notice
- a question relating to an election for a safety and health representative (safety and health representative) that the WorkSafe Commissioner or the State Mining Engineer have been unable to resolve
- a question as to whether a safety and health representative should be disqualified
- a determination of a variation of entitlements to time off work with pay or the payments for attendance at a course of training in the safety and health representative's own time
- a 'discrimination' claim by a safety and health representative
- the entitlement of an employee to wages and conditions under stop work provisions; and, appeals against decisions by the WorkSafe Commissioner and State Mining Engineer.
The Tribunal operates under the auspices of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission . Prosecutions will continue to be dealt with by safety and health magistrates in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia.
The Tribunal shares a website, reception counter, and hearing rooms with the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission, which is located at:
16th Floor, 111 St George's Terrace
PERTH WA 6000
Telephone (08) 9420 4444
Free call for country callers 1800 624 263
Fax (08) 9420 4500
A matter is referred to the Tribunal by completion of a Notice of Referral to the Occupational Safety and Health Tribunal, which can be obtained directly from the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission by phone or fax or downloaded from the website.
Inspectorate boundaries
The following documents define the mine inspectorate boundaries and reporting structure in Western Australia, which were revised in March 2011.
Mine Safety and Inspection Act pamphlet series
Resources Safety has produced a series of pamphlets that provide summary information on what employers and employees need to know about the Mine Safety and Inspection Act.
The pamphlets provide general guidance only. The relevant Acts and regulations should be consulted for detailed information, or contact your regional inspectorate. You can view/download Mine Safety and Inspection Act pamphlets from the Publications - Mining Safety section.
Jurisdictional changes in coastal waters
From 1 January 2012 the responsibility for administering safety regulatory responsibilities for coastal waters under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 and attendant regulations reverted to the DMP. This service had previously been provided by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA).
The legislative amendments contain transitional arrangements whereby safety documentation previously accepted by NOPSA remains accepted and in force until such time there is a legislative requirement for review.
The Petroleum Safety Branch of Resources Safety has the responsibility for the day to day administration of the listed OSH laws contain in the submerged lands legislation that applies to all State coastal waters from the MLWM on the mainland to the 3NM limit. This legislation applies to all offshore petroleum and diving operations including vessels engaged in such activities.
For further information on the changes please contact Petroleum Safety on Phone 9222 3595, Fax 9222 3383 or Email alan.gooch@dmp.wa.gov.au.
