New workplace exposure limits to apply from 1 December 2026
02 May 2024•BlueSafe Team•Source: Safe Work Australia
Work health and safety ministers have agreed to a new Workplace exposure limits (WEL) list, with a harmonised transition period ending on 30 November 2026. The changes follow extensive work and consultation to revise exposure standards for airborne contaminants.
The WEL list is to be adopted across Australia from 1 December 2026, following its implementation in Commonwealth, state and territory WHS laws.
Ministers agreed to replace the name Workplace exposure standards (WES) with Workplace exposure limits. The new name is intended to clarify that the limits should not be exceeded and to bring Australian terminology into line with international usage.
Until 1 December 2026, persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) must continue to ensure that no person is exposed to an airborne contaminant at a concentration above the applicable exposure standard in the WES List.
Most exposure limits remain unchanged. However, the review led to lower limits for some chemicals and higher limits for others, as well as the removal of some limits and the introduction of new ones.
Safe Work Australia’s website provides information about the WEL list and the differences between the WES and WEL. An ‘Exposure standards for airborne contaminants’ emailing list is also available for subscriptions.
How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business’s approach to WHS duties as you prepare for the exposure limit changes. Take the free WHS self-check