Prosecutions commenced against Narrabri Coal

We have commenced prosecution proceedings against Narrabri Coal Pty Ltd and Narrabri Coal Operations Pty Ltd in the NSW Land and Environment Court for alleged breaches of the state’s mining laws.

WHS reports are overdue

Work health and safety reports for the 2019/20 financial year were due by 31 July 2020. If you are a mine operator that meets the criteria, login to the Regulator Portal and submit any outstanding annual work health and safety reports.

Practising certificate reminder

From 1 October 2020, a practising certificate must be held by anyone intending to exercise a statutory function at a mine that requires the certificate. We will be monitoring compliance with the new requirements. Those requiring a practising certificate should apply by 4 September to ensure they receive the certificate by the deadline.

Upcoming events

2 September 2020  |  Webinar: Opal mine holders and operators safety awareness training course This online course covers the knowledge and skills required to be a mine operator at an opal mine, including safety policy, hazard identification, maintenance, risk management, people management, emergency response plans and contractors.

15 September 2020  |  Webinar: Practising certificates and maintenance of competence
Hosted by the Regulator's Competencies and Authorisations Team, this webinar will detail the improvements to the requirements for maintenance of competence. Stakeholders are invited to learn about the changes and recent developments, including practising certificate requirements from 1 October 2020.

Quarterly Safety Report released

The Quarterly Safety Report for April to June 2020 has been published to assist industry improve safety management systems and undertake risk assessments at their sites. The report details incidents and trends relating to hazard management, in addition to sector specific information.

In this quarter, key compliance and enforcement activities included our statutory functions review in the small mines sector. Almost 40% of safety notices were issued to small mines.

Mine Safety Performance Report

The Mine Safety Performance Report for 2018/19 has been released following collation and analysis of industry work health and safety reports, industry incident notifications and our compliance and enforcement data.

The report features an important suite of measures to help guide future actions to improve health and safety performance and allow industry to benchmark their performance against others in their sector.

Survey closing soon

We are conducting a survey to evaluate the success of the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council Dust Safety Awareness campaign among mine workers in NSW. With the survey closing soon, we encourage mine operators and mine managers to share information about the survey with mine workers.

Incident at Springvale Mine

We have commenced an investigation into the death of a worker at Springvale underground coal mine, north west of Lithgow. At around 11:45 am on Friday 21 August, a worker was reportedly found unconscious and unresponsive in the loader he was operating.