Engineered stone ban

From 1 July 2024 a ban on engineered stone came into effect in the ACT. Businesses must not carry out work that involves the manufacture, supply, processing, or installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels, and slabs.

What is engineered stone?

Engineered stone is defined as an artificial product that:

  • contains at least 1% crystalline silica as a weight/weight concentration, and
  • is created by combining natural stone materials with other chemical constituents (such as water, resins, or pigments), and
  • becomes hardened.

What is included in the ban

Any work involving the manufacture, supply, processing, or installation of engineered stone is banned, when it applies to:

  • benchtops: for example, those installed in kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor surfaces
  • panels: for example, kitchen splashbacks or floor and wall tiles, and
  • slabs: for example, larger pieces of engineered stone that might need to be cut to fit a variety of different installation settings.

What is not included in the ban

The ban does not apply to other silica related materials such as:

  • concrete and cement products
  • bricks, pavers and other similar blocks
  • porcelain products*
  • ceramic wall and floor tiles
  • roof tiles
  • grout, mortar and render
  • plasterboard
  • engineered stone products with trace levels of crystalline silica (less than 1% by weight), and
  • sintered stone*.

*Porcelain products and sintered stone are excluded from the prohibition if the products do not contain resin.

Finished engineered stone products (such as jewellery, garden ornaments, sculptures and kitchen sinks) which do not require processing or modification are excluded from the ban.

The prohibition does not apply to natural stone benchtops, panels, or slabs. For example, a granite benchtop is not prohibited.

Exemption for legacy (already installed) engineered stone & notification obligations

From 1 November 2024, before carrying out, or directing someone to carry out, work that involves processing legacy engineered stone (such as engineered stone benchtops, panels; or slabs that are already installed) you need to notify WorkSafe ACT.

Processing includes crushing, cutting, grinding, trimming, sanding, abrasive polishing, or drilling using power tools or other mechanical plant. See section 418E of the Work Health and Safety Regulation for more information.

The exemption applies for:

  • work carried out for the purpose of removing, repairing, making minor modifications or disposal of installed engineered stone, and
  • work carried out for the purposes of disposal of engineered stone, whether installed or not.

To notify WorkSafe ACT of this work, email the completed notification form to ESNotifications@worksafe.act.gov.au.

There are also exceptions from the engineered stone prohibition for work involving the supply, processing or installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs where the work is for genuine research and analysis or to sample and identify engineered stone. This type of work may be carried out without notifying WorkSafe ACT, but any processing of the engineered stone must be controlled.

Any processing of legacy engineered stone must be controlled through the following:

  1. if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, it must be minimised so far as is reasonably practicable by:
    1. Using a water delivery system supplying a continuous feed of water over the processing area to suppress airborne crystalline silica produced by the processing, and
    2. Using at least 1 other of the following measures during the processing:
      1. isolation of the place where the processing occurs from other workers;
      2. a wet dust suppression method;
      3. the attachment of a Class H vacuum to the tool used for processing;
      4. use of a local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system, and
    3. ensuring that each worker at the workplace who may be exposed to respirable crystalline silica produced by the processing:
      1. is provided with respiratory protective equipment (RPE); and
      2. wears the RPE correctly while the work is carried out.

See the below resources for more information.

Resources

Notification of permitted work with legacy engineered stone (New)

Engineered stone prohibition - Guidance for PCBUs

Work Health and Safety (Managing the Risks of Airborne Crystalline Silica (Silica Dust) in the Workplace Code of Practice) 2024. This Code of Practice provides practical guidance on how to manage the risks associated with silica dust at the workplace including engineered stone and other materials containing silica.

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