New Workplace Exposure Limits Start 1 December: What SA Businesses Need to Know
WHS News · Hazardous Substances
From 1 December 2026, Australia’s workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants will be replaced by new Workplace Exposure Limits. SafeWork SA is urging South Australian businesses to review their controls and air monitoring now, before the change takes effect.
Key takeaways
- The new Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) list takes effect nationally on 1 December 2026.
- Diesel particulate matter gets a workplace exposure limit for the first time.
- Some chemicals are now treated as having no safe level of exposure.
- In SA, new limits for grain dust, flour dust, methyl bromide and phosphine are delayed to July 2028 at the earliest.
- Until 1 December, the current exposure standards still apply.
1 Dec
2026: the date the new national Workplace Exposure Limits list takes effect
1,100+
submissions informed Safe Work Australia’s review of the limits
9
chemicals whose current limits stay the same for now, including silica and benzene
What is changing?
Many work processes release dusts, gases, fumes, vapours and mists into the air, and many of these airborne contaminants can’t be seen or smelled. Exposure can cause anything from eye and throat irritation to respiratory disease and cancer.
Since the last comprehensive review in 2003, new scientific evidence has emerged. From 1 December 2026, Safe Work Australia’s current Workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants (the WES list) will be replaced by the Workplace exposure limits for airborne contaminants (the WEL list), which will operate nationally. The new name makes it clear these are limits that should not be exceeded, and brings Australia into line with international terminology.
The updated list includes:
- Revised limits for a number of substances
- New limits for some contaminants that were not previously listed
- A workplace exposure limit for diesel particulate matter for the first time
- Changes to how certain substances are managed, including chemicals reclassified as non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens
Exposure limits continue to be expressed in three ways: an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA), a 15-minute short-term exposure limit (STEL), and a peak limitation. Some substances have more than one.
Chemicals with no safe level of exposure
During the review, some airborne contaminants were identified as non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens (NTGCs). These can cause genetic damage and may lead to cancer, and no practical, protective exposure level can be set. As a result, the WEL list does not give them a numerical limit.
That does not mean they are unregulated. Businesses must eliminate the risk so far as is reasonably practicable. If that is not possible, they must work through the hierarchy of control, substituting less hazardous chemicals or isolating people from exposure first, then using engineering controls, with administrative controls and PPE for any remaining risk. Air monitoring for NTGCs is not mandatory, but it can help confirm controls are working.
What stays the same, for now
Not every limit will change on 1 December. After a national Decision Regulation Impact Statement, WHS ministers did not reach a majority on lowering the limits for nine chemicals. These will move onto the new WEL list with their existing levels unchanged:
| Chemicals keeping their current limits |
|---|
| Benzene · Chlorine · Copper · Formaldehyde · Hydrogen cyanide · Hydrogen sulphide · Nitrogen dioxide · Respirable crystalline silica · Titanium dioxide |
SA delays limits for grain, flour and fumigants
Following consultation with South Australian producers, the State Government has extended the start date for four new limits that were due on 1 December 2026:
| Substance | Where it is found | New start date |
|---|---|---|
| Phosphine | The main fumigant used to protect stored grain from pests | July 2028 |
| Grain dust | Harvesting, storing, handling and transporting wheat, barley, oats and other grains | No earlier than July 2028 |
| Flour dust | Milling, baking and food manufacturing | No earlier than July 2028 |
| Methyl bromide | Pest control and quarantine fumigation, including grain exports | No earlier than July 2028 |
Grain Producers SA, Grain Producers Australia and the Australian Industry Group raised concerns about measuring and demonstrating compliance, and about the limits starting midway through an expected record harvest. The extension of at least 18 months avoids disruption to the next two harvest seasons. Victoria has made similar delays, and Western Australia has delayed its phosphine limit. SafeWork SA will work with industry on guidance and support, including for grain dust.
Many businesses may already have effective controls in place, but now is the time to review exposure risks, monitoring programs and existing controls to determine whether any additional measures may be needed ahead of commencement.
Glenn Farrell, Executive Director, SafeWork SA
Industries to watch
- Construction: respirable crystalline silica from cutting concrete, bricks and stone, plus welding fumes and diesel exhaust from plant.
- Manufacturing: flour, wood and textile dusts, welding fumes and chemical vapours from plastics and rubber. SafeWork SA warns some sites could become non-compliant overnight without changing anything they do.
- Agriculture: grain dust in silos, augers and storage facilities, plus fumigants. Most new limits here are delayed, but existing standards still apply.
- Mining, transport and warehousing: diesel engine emissions from vehicles and mobile plant, now covered by a dedicated limit.
How to prepare before 1 December
- Identify your airborne contaminants. Walk the site, check labels and safety data sheets, and ask workers and HSRs which tasks create dust, fumes or vapours.
- Compare against the new WEL list. Check which of your substances have new, lower or changed limits, or are now classed as having no safe exposure level.
- Review your air monitoring. Existing results may no longer show compliance against the new limits. An occupational hygienist can help.
- Strengthen your controls. Work down the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, isolate, then engineering controls such as on-tool extraction and ventilation, with respiratory protection as the last line of defence.
- Check health monitoring obligations for workers exposed to hazardous chemicals.
- Consult and train your workers so they understand the changes and the controls that protect them.
Source: SafeWork SA, Get ready for new Workplace Exposure Limits (23 September 2026), New dust and fumigant regulations delayed (26 October 2026), Phosphine regulation changes delayed after consultation (12 October 2026) and the Workplace Exposure Standards and Limits information hub. Featured photo: Amr Taha on Unsplash.
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