INSIGHT · LICENSING & COMPLIANCE

NSW's silica worker register starts with a task.
The clock is 28 days from it.

19 October 2026

Since 1 October 2025, a business in NSW that carries out, or directs or allows a worker to carry out, processing of a crystalline silica substance (CSS) that is high risk must give SafeWork NSW prescribed information for the silica worker register. Section 529L of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 sets the deadline: as soon as reasonably practicable and no more than 28 days from the date that processing commences. The information covers each worker, the business, the processing and health monitoring.

A half-face respirator, safety glasses and work gloves on a bench

Analysed 19 October 2026 · Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) ss 273A and 273B · Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), Part 8A and Schedule 18A · Work Health and Safety Amendment (Silica Worker Register) Regulation 2025 (2025 No 417, published 15 August 2025) · SafeWork NSW pages published 15 August 2025, 20 February 2026 and 18 August 2026 · all read 19 October 2026. The NSW legislation register blocks automated access, so the Act was read from a Wayback Machine snapshot dated 8 December 2025, the current Regulation (version for 3 July 2026 to date) through a browser, and SafeWork NSW pages through a rendering proxy.

Key takeaways

A task-level trigger with a 28-day clock: The duty applies to a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) carrying out, or directing or allowing a worker to carry out, processing of a CSS that is high risk. The information is due as soon as reasonably practicable and no more than 28 days from the date that processing commences (s 529L(3)). SafeWork NSW states a notification cannot be made in advance using a future date.
A written assessment identifies high-risk processing: The Regulation defines high risk as processing "reasonably likely to result in a risk to the health of a person at the workplace". A written assessment is required to identify high-risk processing. In making it, s 529CA(3) bars reliance on the control measures in s 529B(1)(b) and regard to personal protective equipment and administrative controls, and where the business cannot decide, the processing is taken to be high risk.
SafeWork NSW: the employing business notifies: SafeWork NSW states that principal contractors are not required to register a subcontractor's workers: the subcontractor directing or allowing the processing registers them. It recommends the principal contractor confirm the subcontractor has done so.
Once per employment, not once per site: Worker details need not be given again if the same business gave them for that worker's earlier high-risk processing (s 529M(2)). SafeWork NSW states a change of site does not require re-notification, and a new employer must register the worker again.
We would store the start date per worker: A system-design recommendation: each worker record carries the employing entity, the written risk assessment it relies on, the date that worker first carried out high-risk processing for the business, the 28-day due date, and the notification confirmation.

The instruments and their dates

The power to keep a register came first, in the Act; the obligation to supply information came with the Regulation that commenced on 1 October 2025.

SafeWork NSW's page on the Amendment Regulation states it amended the 2017 Regulation, which "has since been remade as the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025", and that references to the 2017 clauses should now be read as the corresponding sections of the 2025 Regulation.

Provision	What it states	Status
Work Health and Safety Act 2011, s 273A	SafeWork NSW "may establish and keep a silica worker register in accordance with the regulations"; a PCBU "must, in accordance with the regulations, give SafeWork NSW information for inclusion". Maximum penalty 243 penalty units for an individual, 1,214 for a body corporate	Inserted by 2023 No 34
Work Health and Safety Act 2011, s 273B	"The silica worker register must not be publicly available." SafeWork NSW and Insurance and Care NSW (icare) may access and use it	Inserted by 2023 No 34
Work Health and Safety Amendment (Silica Worker Register) Regulation 2025	Inserted Part 8A.4, Silica worker register, into the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017	2025 No 417, published 15 August 2025; commenced 1 October 2025
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, s 2 and Part 8A.4 (ss 529K to 529R)	Remakes the 2017 Regulation; Part 8A.4 commences on 1 October 2025. Sections 529L to 529P set out who gives what information, and when	In force
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, Schedule 18A	Lists s 273A(2) of the Act as a penalty notice offence: $900 for individuals, $4,500 for bodies corporate	In force

What counts as processing,
and when it is high risk.

The register duty turns on two defined terms. Neither is a list of trades or materials; both describe what is done to a material and what that is likely to do to a person.

Whether a particular cutting, drilling or chasing task is high risk is the assessment the Regulation requires the business to make and record.

Crystalline silica substance: Section 529A(2): "material that contains at least 1% crystalline silica, determined as a weight/weight (w/w) concentration". Engineered stone is a type of CSS. SafeWork NSW states construction materials such as sandstone, concrete and bricks can contain up to 90% silica dust.
Processing: Section 529A(1): the use of power tools or mechanical plant for crushing, cutting, grinding, trimming, sanding, abrasive polishing or drilling of a CSS; roadheaders excavating a CSS; quarrying; mechanical screening; tunnelling through a CSS; or a process that exposes, or is reasonably likely to expose, a person to respirable crystalline silica during manufacture or handling of a CSS.
High risk: Section 5: processing of a CSS "that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to the health of a person at the workplace". Section 529CA(2) lists what the assessment must have regard to, including the specific processing, the form and proportion of crystalline silica, the likely frequency and duration of exposure, and whether airborne levels are reasonably likely to exceed half the workplace exposure standard.
How the assessment is made: Section 529CA(3) bars relying on control measures under s 529B(1)(b), personal protective equipment or administrative controls when assessing. Section 529CA(4) requires the assessment to be recorded in writing, and s 529CA(5) treats processing as high risk until the business determines it is not.

What the register asks for

Sections 529M to 529P prescribe four groups of information. SafeWork NSW's online form collects them through its portal, one worker at a time or by bulk upload.

SafeWork NSW states no health monitoring results are provided to the register, and that a worker given a correct email address receives an automated email advising of their inclusion.

Group	Items prescribed	Provision
Each worker	Name, date of birth, phone number, email address. Not required again if the same business gave them for the worker's earlier high-risk processing	s 529M
The business	Name or business name, industry, Australian Business Number, phone, email, business address, an individual contact person, and the current workers compensation policy number if one must be held	s 529N
The processing	Its location, the date it commenced, whether it involves or is associated with constructing a tunnel, and if so the tunnel project name	s 529O
Health monitoring	Whether, in the previous 12 months, the business engaged a person to undertake health monitoring of a worker doing the processing, and that person's name and ABN; not required if the person engaged was the Workers Compensation (Dust Diseases) Authority	s 529P

Who notifies, and how often

SafeWork NSW's published answers fill in how the Regulation's single sentence on timing works across a workforce that moves between sites and employers.

Principal contractor and subcontractor: SafeWork NSW: "principal contractors on a construction site are not required to register the workers of a subcontractor as it is the subcontractor that is directing or allowing those workers to carry out the processing of a CSS that is high risk."
The entity on the payslip: SafeWork NSW states workers must be notified under the PCBU that directly employs them, "the PCBU name that appears on their pay slips", even where a workers compensation policy is held by a parent entity.
Sites and employers: SafeWork NSW states a business notifies each worker once, gives the location at the time of notification, and selects one site if the worker works across several. A worker who changes employer must be registered again by the new employer. Workers who travel into NSW to do the processing must also be registered.
Who is outside: Section 529L(1)(b) excludes a business required to undertake health monitoring under an order made under the Coal Industry Act 2001.
Workers who stopped before 1 October 2025: SafeWork NSW's question-and-answer states those workers "do not need to be notified" and only workers doing the processing on or after 1 October 2025 do. Elsewhere the same page, as read on 19 October 2026, states: "PCBUs do need to register workers who ceased work involving high risk silica processing before this date."

One register among
several silica records.

The register is one of several dated silica obligations in Part 8A, each with its own clock and its own document, and each answers a different question.

The engineered stone prohibition and the legacy engineered stone notification sit in Parts 8A.2 and 8A.3 and are a separate set of records.

Record	Clock or retention, as stated	Source
Written risk assessment of whether processing is high risk	Recorded in writing	s 529CA(4)
Silica risk control plan	Prepared before high-risk processing commences; SafeWork NSW states a safe work method statement may be used instead in construction work	s 529CB(1); SafeWork NSW
Silica worker register notification	As soon as reasonably practicable and no more than 28 days from the date high-risk processing commences	s 529L(3)
Air monitoring result above the workplace exposure standard	Given to the regulator no more than 14 days from the date the result was reported	s 529CE(b)
Air monitoring reports and health monitoring reports	SafeWork NSW states air monitoring reports are kept for 30 years and health monitoring reports for at least 30 years	SafeWork NSW

What we would put in a system

Where agents help here is narrow. A compliance agent can read a safe work method statement, a risk assessment and a timesheet, propose the date a worker first did the assessed processing, compute the 28-day due date, and draft the notification for a person to check and lodge. No agent decides whether processing is high risk, and none submits a worker's personal details without a person confirming them.

Field	Why it is load-bearing
Employing entity, as on the worker's payslip	SafeWork NSW states the notification is made under the PCBU that directly employs the worker.
The written risk assessment relied on, its date and its outcome	The duty attaches only to processing that is high risk, and s 529CA(4) requires the assessment in writing.
Date the worker first carried out high-risk processing for this employer	Section 529L(3) runs the 28 days from that date; a notification cannot use a future date.
Notification date and the confirmation SafeWork NSW issues	Shows the information was given within 28 days, and that it need not be given again during that employment.
Health monitoring provider in the previous 12 months, with name and ABN	Section 529P asks for it unless the provider was the Dust Diseases Authority.

Questions worth asking
of your own worker records

For a trade subcontractor in NSW: which workers started work your written assessment rates high risk in the last 28 days, and which of them are notified?

Section 529L(3) runs the clock from the date the processing commences. A list of workers, their first assessed task date and their notification date answers it. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal or WHS advice.

For a principal contractor: can you show which subcontractors confirmed their register notifications?

SafeWork NSW states the duty sits with the subcontractor directing the work and recommends the principal contractor confirm it has been met. A dated confirmation on the subcontractor's file shows that it was asked. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal or WHS advice.

For a building group with several employing entities: is each worker notified under the entity on their payslip?

SafeWork NSW states the notification is made under the PCBU that directly employs the worker, even where a parent entity holds the workers compensation policy. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal or WHS advice.

Questions people ask
about the NSW silica worker register

Who must be notified to the NSW silica worker register?

Workers who carry out processing of a crystalline silica substance that is high risk, notified by the business that carries out, directs or allows that processing. This is set by s 529L of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, in force from 1 October 2025. A crystalline silica substance is material with at least 1% crystalline silica by weight. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not WHS advice.

How long do you have to register a worker on the NSW silica worker register?

As soon as reasonably practicable and no more than 28 days from the date the high-risk processing commences, under s 529L(3) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025. SafeWork NSW states the notification cannot be made in advance using a future date, as read on 19 October 2026.

Does a principal contractor register a subcontractor's workers on the silica register?

SafeWork NSW states principal contractors are not required to, because it is the subcontractor that directs or allows its workers to carry out the high-risk processing; the subcontractor registers them. SafeWork NSW recommends the principal contractor confirm the subcontractor has notified, as read on 19 October 2026.

Do I need to re-register a worker on the silica register for each site?

No, according to SafeWork NSW as read on 19 October 2026: a business notifies each worker once during their employment and gives the location at the time; for a worker on several sites it selects one. Section 529M(2) of the Regulation also removes the need to resend worker details already given by the same business.

Is the NSW silica worker register public?

No. Section 273B(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 states the register must not be publicly available. SafeWork NSW and icare may access it, and the Regulation adds the Workers Compensation (Dust Diseases) Authority. SafeWork NSW states health monitoring results are not provided to the register.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows: The NSW silica worker register obligation: the Act's power and offence, the Regulation's trigger, deadline and prescribed information, its commencement on 1 October 2025, and SafeWork NSW's published answers on who notifies and how often, as read on 19 October 2026.
Key facts quoted: Commencement 1 October 2025 (Amendment Regulation cl 2; Regulation 2025 s 2(a)); as soon as reasonably practicable and no more than 28 days from commencement of high-risk processing (s 529L(3)); high risk defined in s 5; CSS at least 1% crystalline silica w/w (s 529A(2)); information in ss 529M to 529P; maximum penalty 243 and 1,214 penalty units (Act s 273A(2)); penalty notice $900 and $4,500 (Schedule 18A); register not public (s 273B(1)).

NSW only. Other states' silica rules, including any health monitoring or notification schemes, are not covered.
The NSW legislation register blocks automated access. The Act was read from a Wayback Machine snapshot dated 8 December 2025; a later amendment to it would not show there. The current Regulation text, version from 3 July 2026, was compared with a 21 January 2026 snapshot for the provisions quoted; no wording difference was found in those provisions. SafeWork NSW pages updated in August 2026 describe the same obligation.
Who notifies, once-per-employment, site changes and the payslip entity are SafeWork NSW's published answers, not words of the Regulation.
SafeWork NSW's notification page contradicts itself on workers who stopped high-risk processing before 1 October 2025. We report both statements.
The definitions are quoted. Nothing here says whether any task, material or worker is within them.
Nothing here is legal or work health and safety advice, and it does not determine whether any processing is high risk or whether any business has met the obligation.

Bring us one NSW crew's silica records.

Send us a safe work method statement or risk assessment, the timesheets for the first weeks of the work, and any register confirmations. We will show you whether your records hold the dates the 28-day rule is counted from, under the entity that employs each worker.

This article is general information about published NSW legislation and SafeWork NSW guidance. It is not legal or work health and safety advice and it does not determine whether any processing is high risk or whether any notification is required or complete. It covers NSW only. All provisions and pages are as read on 19 October 2026 at the versions listed in the sources.

Send us the records · Compliance

Sources

Suggested citation: Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) ss 273A and 273B and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) ss 5, 529A, 529CA, 529L to 529R and Schedule 18A, with SafeWork NSW silica worker register guidance, as read 19 October 2026. Derived figures: none.

NSW's silica worker register starts with a task. The clock is 28 days from it.