Silica dust is the new asbestos conversation — and engineered stone is now banned because of it. If you cut, grind or drill concrete, masonry, tiles or stone, here are the rules: the exposure limit, the ban, the control plan you need, and health monitoring.
Engineered stone — banned
A national ban on engineered stone (benchtops, panels, slabs) took effect 1 July 2024. It prohibits manufacturing, supplying, processing or installing engineered stone that meets three criteria: 1% or more crystalline silica, made by combining natural stone with chemical constituents (resins, pigments), and hardened. The import ban followed on 1 January 2025. (Contracts signed before December 2023 could be completed to 31 December 2024.)
Not banned: concrete and cement products, bricks and pavers, ceramic and porcelain, tiles, grout, mortar, render, plasterboard — and resin-free porcelain or sintered stone. Legacy work on already-installed engineered stone (removal, repair, disposal) is still allowed — with effective dust controls, and you must notify your state regulator before the work.
The exposure standard
For everything that still generates silica dust — concrete cutting, masonry, tile cutting — the workplace exposure standard is 0.05 mg/m³ (8-hour time-weighted average), and exposure must not exceed it. This standard applies to ALL silica-generating work, not just engineered stone: concrete, brick, paver, tile and masonry cutting all count. And note a change for 2026: from 1 December 2026 the 0.05 mg/m3 figure moves into the new Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) framework, so the limit carries over but is restated under the WEL regime, so check you are working to the current instrument (Safe Work Australia: exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica).
The control plan (since 1 September 2024)
From 1 September 2024, for high-risk crystalline-silica work you must complete a silica risk assessment and put a written control plan in place, and train workers on the risks. Air monitoring in workers' breathing zones is required where it is uncertain whether the standard is being exceeded (and for high-risk processes); a result over the standard must be reported to the regulator. High-risk silica work is also high-risk construction work — so you need a SWMS as well.
The controls — never dry-cut
The hierarchy applies: eliminate where you can, then minimise. For a high-risk silica process you must use at least one of: isolating the worker from the dust; a fully enclosed operator cabin with HEPA filtration; or effective wet dust suppression. On-tool water suppression, on-tool extraction and local exhaust ventilation are the everyday engineering controls. Never dry-cut, dry-grind or dry-polish silica materials. RPE (respirators to AS/NZS 1716) is the last line of defence — after the engineering and admin controls, not instead of them.
Health monitoring
For workers doing ongoing silica work (or at significant risk) you must provide and pay for health monitoring — history, exposure records, a physical exam, a respiratory questionnaire, lung-function tests (FEV1, FVC), and a baseline chest X-ray for high-risk workers — by a registered medical practitioner experienced in it.
Common mistakes
- Dry-cutting concrete, masonry or tiles.
- No control plan or air monitoring on high-risk silica work.
- Treating RPE as the primary control — it is the last line.
- Not notifying the regulator before legacy engineered-stone work.
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