New Deadline for Mandatory Silica Training – Sunday 1 October 2023

Earlier today, Minister Gentleman announced a THREE month extension to the 1 July 2023 deadline for all workers in the building and construction industry to complete their mandatory silica training. This means that you must complete the 10830NAT Course in Crystalline Silica Exposure Prevention prior to 1 October 2023 to continue to work on a construction site in the ACT.

This announcement is a direct result of calls from Master Builders ACT to the ACT Government and to the Minister when it became apparent several months ago that it was impossible for all the industry to be trained by the July deadline.

While we still have concerns that a three month extension is not long enough, we welcome this announcement and encourage all members to book in to the mandatory silica training without delay. You can do this by contacting training@mba.org.au to have your details placed on our waitlist.

All courses at MBA Group Training are fully booked and we are operating from a waitlist. Members are being prioritised. We expect additional courses to be released throughout July, August and September, which will be offered to our waitlist first before being made available to the general public.

We will attempt to respond to your enquiry within two business days; however, we ask for your patience and understanding if it takes a little longer as our team are dealing with a very high volume of enquiries.

We would like to thank all members who assisted us with our advocacy efforts by contacting the ACT Government and the Minister.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the New Silica Regulation 

The MBA Workplace Relations and Legal Team have received a number of questions about the new silica regulation. The team have prepared a few FAQ’s to answer some of your burning questions about silica.

Will I be fined if I work with crystalline silica without having Silica Training on or after 1 October 2023?

Yes. You will be fined up to $6000 (for an individual) and $30,000 (for a company).

Who is required to complete Silica Training?

All workers in the Work Health and Safety (Crystalline Silica Awareness Training Course and Occupations) Declaration 2022 (Specified Occupations) and those who are reasonably expected to work with silica-containing materials must undertake Silica Training. If you work with silica-containing materials or on a site where crystalline silica is present you will still need to undertake Silica Training.

The WHS Regulations require the following people to have silica training:

• a worker who carries out high risk crystalline silica work; and
• a worker engaged in an occupation listed in the Specified Occupations.

The definition of high risk crystalline silica work is very broad. It can include people who work on a construction site where silica is present or anyone who is reasonably likely to work with silica containing materials. This may include some delivery drivers, cleaners and other contractors. Any person entering a construction site should be risk assessed on an individual basis.

MBA Group Training RTO No: 88163