Compliance priorities - July to December 2022

We have released the Compliance priorities - July to December 2022. The report sets out the NSW Resources Regulator key compliance priorities for the next 6 months.

By publishing our compliance priorities, we aim to increase transparency, community and industry confidence in our regulatory activities, and increase levels of voluntary compliance.

Industry insights shared at hybrid MEM forums

The Regulator hosted another successful round of the Mining Engineering Managers forums last week.

More than 80 industry representatives attended the hybrid open cut coal forum based at Singleton while 64 attended the hybrid underground coal forum in Penrith.

These collaborative events shared key industry insights and had a “what's said in the room, stays in the room” requirement. The event is also crucial in maintaining competency and continuing professional development for those with a practicing certificate.

Topics covered included incident and injury trends, compliance priorities, planned assessments, and a report on the Ground and Strata Stage 3 (Coal Stockpiles), to name a few. Both forums also featured excellent presentations from industry.

We're finalising dates for future Mining Engineering Managers forums. If you or a member of your team would like to present at a future forum, reach out to the industry engagement team on industry.engagement@regional.nsw.gov.au

New report on proximity awareness and collision avoidance 

The Regulator has released a compliance report on proximity awareness and collision avoidance in open cut coal mines.

The report is based on the inspection of 29 surface coal mines or handling facilities and summarises controls for vehicle interaction hazards and engineering solutions, as well as the operators’ legal responsibilities to maintain a safe workplace.

The report identifies several third party and OEM collision avoidance and proximity detection systems trialled by mine operators, as well as a wide range of controls, to minimise risk on site.

Update on work health and safety laws

Changes to the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 passed by NSW Parliament in May will come into effect from 1 August.

The amendments were the result of recommendations from a 2020 statutory review into Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) laws.

A key change is the issue of penalties for offences under the Act and Regulation. Rather than a monetary value, penalties will be expressed as penalty ‘units’ and indexed in line with the consumer price index.

The remaining Act amendments are relatively minor and include: 

• updating references to ‘the Department’ to ‘Regional NSW’ and the ‘regulator’ to the ‘Resources Regulator’ 
• codifying current practice for nationwide criminal record and other relevant probity checks for Ministerial appointment of industry safety and health representatives 
• ensuring the Mining and Petroleum Competence Board Chair is independent of the entities that may nominate prospective board members 
• enabling the service of documents on a person or a body corporate by email.

Reminder: Submit work health and safety reports online 

Time is running out for mine operators to submit their annual work health and safety reports for the 2021-22 financial year.

Reports must be submitted within 30 days after June 30. 

Head to the Regulator Portal to see a list of due reports for the mine/s your email address is authorised to notify.

Some operators are not required to submit a report, for example operators of exploration sites or non-coal mines where total hours worked in the period was less than 10,000 hours. Responses to the Resources Regulator Portal questions will assist in determining whether a report is required. 

For more information about work health and safety reports, please refer to our website, and guide.
You can also contact us via cau@regional.nsw.gov.au for any inquiries or to advise of any changes to your information.

MESS 2022 - tickets still available

The future of the industry, introducing battery electric vehicles to underground mining, autonomous haulage and mental health are a few of the topics to be explored at the 30th Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar in Sydney on 10-11 August.

There are limited tickets available for the 2-day seminar, which focuses on mechanical safety and health issues in mines and offers an opportunity for discussion and consultation between engineers and other key stakeholders.

There is a range of ticket options, including the full seminar (2-day pass and seminar dinner) as well as single-day options.

MEMSS 2022 - early bird tickets now available 

Early bird tickets have been released for the 2nd Mining Engineering Managers' Safety Seminar (MEMSS) held on 12-13 October, 2022 at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.

A full program will be released in the coming weeks. We encourage those keen to attend to take advantage of the early bird discount and secure your seat. Early bird tickets include the 2-day seminar and dinner on the 12 October, 2022. Limited tickets available.

New event: Registration forum 

We are hosting a Registration Forum on 7 September 2022 to share information about plant and item registration requirements including amendments and alterations to designs. The forum will will also provide an update on the implementation of the changes being made to simplifying the plant registration process.

Who should attend?

• Design engineers and verifiers for design and item registration applications made to the Resources Regulator.
• Holders of design registrations issued by the Resources Regulator.
• Holders of item registrations issued by the Resources Regulator.

The hybrid event will be held in the Hunter Valley and online. Targeted invitations will be sent next week. Invitations can be requested by emailing rr.workshops@planning.nsw.gov.au 

Upcoming events 

Quarterly forums

• Southern and Western region coal electrical engineers' forum - 18 August
• Hunter region electrical engineer's forum - 19 August

• Opal mining safety workshop, Lightning Ridge - 2 August
• Opal mining safety workshop, Lightning Ridge - 20 September

In case you missed it...

The following are recent publications and updates available on our website:

• Weekly incident summary - 22 July
• FAQ - New standard rehabilitation conditions on mining leases for large mines
• Compliance report: Proximity awareness & collision avoidance technology - open cut coal mines