Ethylene oxide (oxirane) is leaving the numbered list. Safe Work Australia’s May 2025 changes class it as a non-threshold genotoxic carcinogen with no Workplace Exposure Limit from 1 December 2026. The note on that row is plain: no limit from that date; eliminate or minimise so far as reasonably practicable; comply with the current exposure...
Dichloroacetic acid did not have a workplace exposure standard. From 1 December 2026 it has a Workplace Exposure Limit of 2.5 mg/m³ (0.5 ppm), an 8-hour time-weighted average, once that limit is given effect in your jurisdiction. Safe Work Australia’s May 2025 changes list is the source. That row does not set a short-term exposure...
There is a date circled on the calendar for every business that works with airborne contaminants. That date is 1 December 2026. From that point, the Workplace Exposure Limits for airborne contaminants replace the current Workplace Exposure Standards across Australia. For some businesses, this will feel like a name change. For others, it means real...
Most Australian businesses with revenue above $100 million have been filing Modern Slavery Statements since 2019. The statements went in annually, got lodged on the register, and for a lot of organisations that was roughly where engagement with the issue ended. That approach will not hold up much longer. The Australian Government is advancing reforms...
This August update summarises the legislation, regulations and codes flagged in our register across Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. The August register includes updates across work health and safety, electrical safety, building regulation, education and care services, commercial fisheries, portable long service leave, major sports facilities, and mine-site road and traffic management. At a glance...
Manganese (dust / fume / compounds, as Mn) is a **WES_reduced** listing. Previous WES expressions in the CSV extract sit at **TWA 1 (dust); 1/3 (fume)** mg/m³. From **1 December 2026**, the Workplace Exposure Limit is **Inhalable 0.1; respirable 0.02** mg/m³ **as Mn** (per Safe Work Australia’s published changes and our CSV extract). That is...
From 1 December 2026, peracetic acid has a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) for the first time. Safe Work Australia lists it as a peak limitation of 0.4 ppm (1.24 mg/m³). The listing has no 8-hour TWA and no STEL. A peak limitation is the maximum concentration measured over the shortest time possible, not exceeding 15...
Portland cement is a **WES_reduced** listing on Safe Work Australia’s published changes. The Workplace Exposure Standard sits at **TWA 10** mg/m³. From **1 December 2026**, the Workplace Exposure Limit is **TWA 1 respirable** mg/m³ (per SWA’s published changes and our CSV extract). That is not a tidy rename of the same column — it is...
Why this pair matters Diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) is a new WEL substance: 0.04 mg/m³ (0.01 ppm) as an 8-hour TWA and 0.07 mg/m³ (0.02 ppm) as a STEL. WES remains the reference until 30 November 2026; WEL applies from 1 December 2026 once implemented. Check your WHS regulator. Where it shows up Flavour compounding and food...
Why HSE and ops should care But-2-yne-1,4-diol (2-butyne-1,4-diol) is a new airborne contaminant with an 8-hour WEL of 0.5 mg/m³. WES remains the reference until 30 November 2026; WEL applies from 1 December 2026 once implemented. Check your WHS regulator. Where airborne risk shows up Fine chemical manufacture, electroplating and formulation. Bag tipping, weighing, milling,...
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