Thanks to Gary Wilcox of workplace compliance and safety company MONIT for this article.
Dust in a workshop is often treated as part of the job. If you can see it on the floor, someone will eventually sweep it up. The finer particles are harder to spot. They can hang in the air long after the job is done, waiting for a pair of lungs to come along and breathe them deep into the airways.
From 1 December 2026, Australia will replace its current Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) list with the Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) list. Some limits have changed and new contaminants have been added. The current standards remain in force until 30 November 2026. December is the changeover date, not the date businesses first need to take airborne exposure seriously.
Calling these the “new dust laws” is convenient, but dust is only part of the story. The limits also cover airborne fumes, mists, gases and vapours. In a panel shop these may come from sanding body filler, grinding, welding, spray painting, mixing chemicals, cleaning spray guns or just running diesel vehicles indoors.
So, what should a business actually do?
Start with the products and processes in your workplace. Check current safety data sheets, then consider what happens when those products are used. A tin of body filler sitting on a shelf presents a different exposure from the same filler being sanded across a workshop. Likewise, the fact that a product has a safety data sheet does not mean anyone has assessed the air the worker is breathing.
Next, check the controls on the job. Is the dust extractor connected, maintained and switched on? Is welding fume captured near its source? Is the spray booth extracting properly? Are diesel vehicles running indoors without tailpipe extraction? Some panel shops believe an open roller door is the gold standard in dust extraction. Cheap, yes. Effective, no.
Respirators have their place, provided the right one has been selected for the contaminant and task. Where a tight-fitting respirator is required, the worker needs fit testing, a clean-shaven sealing area and a seal check each time the mask is worn. A box of masks in the storeroom does very little for the person breathing dust at the other end of the building.
Does every workplace now need air testing?
No. There is no blanket requirement to test every room simply because the WEL list is coming. Air monitoring is required in particular circumstances, including where there is uncertainty about whether exposure exceeds an applicable limit. “We’ve always done it this way” is not a control measure. It is, however, a good way to keep a lawyer busy. A business needs to be able to show that its controls are keeping exposure below the limit.
A failed extraction system in the paint mixing booth, dust spreading beyond the work area, workers reporting respiratory symptoms, or an unassessed new product or process are signs that exposure needs another look. Fix the obvious problems and obtain competent advice where exposure remains uncertain.
A practical starting point is an Airborne Contaminant Register. Record the products and processes, what they release into the air, who may be exposed and what controls are in place. Check the relevant limits, maintain equipment and keep records of training, fit testing and health monitoring such as spirometry testing for painters.
The new limits commence on 1 December 2026 so businesses have time to prepare. Utilise the Airborne Contaminant Register during this time to assess what workers are breathing so that when December rolls around, you have evidence that workers’ exposure is controlled below the relevant limits. That should make everyone breathe a little easier.