Workplace Exposure Limits 2026: Dates by State and Territory

Select a substance to compare its limits and timing across all eight jurisdictions. Dates show the published commencement or transition position; announced delays and current limits are stated directly. The source notes explain where the comparison relies on regulator guidance and where legal implementation needs confirmation.

General workplace rules are shown unless an industry is named. Queensland mines have separate exposure requirements.

TWA means eight-hour time-weighted average; STEL means short-term exposure limit. A peak limit must not be exceeded at any time. Diesel particulate matter is measured using the particle fraction and method specified in the applicable rules; REC means respirable elemental carbon. Values are not assurances of safety.

Queensland’s 15-substance transition runs until 1 December 2029; the rows identify the interim arrangements. Victoria’s published transition also extends to 2029; remade Victorian OHS regulations are required from April 2028 to maintain those arrangements. National decisions remain subject to applicable local law. Check the substance, particle fraction, work activity and current requirements before applying a value.

SR 165/2026, made on 20 October 2026, commences on 1 December. It adopts WELs as amended from time to time, subject to regulation 165 exclusions and Schedule 8A. The 15 substance families are covered by 14 Schedule 8A items and three excluded dust fractions. Remade OHS regulations are required from April 2028 to maintain the published arrangements through November 2029.

DPM underground mining retains a TWA of 0.1 mg/m³ as respirable elemental carbon in both the 2026 and 2029 periods. The general-industry reduction to 0.01 mg/m³ applies to other industries.

SR 164/2026 covers Dangerous Goods storage and handling separately. Regulation 38 concerns clearing decommissioned receptacles, with provisions in Schedule 1A. Check the chemical identity, particle fraction and applicable legal regime because these provisions differ from the OHS scheme.

WorkSafe Victoria guidance (reviewed 20 October); October quick-reference table; OHS SR 165/2026; DG SR 164/2026; Victorian Gazette S619.

SafeWork NSW’s 28 October announcement and detailed guidance describe the Harmonisation Amendment Regulation 2026 and its 1 December commencement. The dates and values here reflect that regulator guidance. Direct verification of the full text of SL 2026-600 remains incomplete; confirm the applicable amendment and any sector-specific provisions before relying on it for a workplace assessment.

For phosphine, TWA 0.3 ppm (0.42 mg/m³) and STEL 1 ppm (1.4 mg/m³) continue through 30 June 2028. The revised national limit starts on 1 July. DPM has an interim TWA of 0.05 mg/m³ as respirable elemental carbon from 1 December 2026 through 30 June 2028, followed by 0.01 mg/m³ from 1 July.

The staged DPM requirements are shown for NSW underground mining on the basis of SafeWork NSW’s published guidance, with general WHS laws also applying to mines. Direct verification of the amending instrument remains incomplete; confirm any additional mine-specific provisions.

SafeWork NSW detailed explanation (accessed 4 November); WHS amendment SL 2026-600; NSW gazette catalogue.

The 26 October announcement defers flour dust, grain dust and methyl bromide until no earlier than July 2028. A final commencement date, exact day and legal eligibility conditions have not been confirmed. The 12 October phosphine announcement specifies July 2028, without an exact day.

These later substance-specific announcements take precedence over earlier general transition guidance. Implementing legislation for the deferrals remains unverified. Confirm the applicable legal arrangements and any workplace-specific exemptions before relying on the announced timing.

General transition guidance; 26 October dust and fumigant announcement; 12 October phosphine announcement; current SA regulations; as-made register; 2026 gazette archive.

The government’s 14 October phosphine statement and WorkSafe’s 29 October transition update specify 1 December 2029. DPM changes are subject to a regulatory impact assessment, and no replacement commencement date has been confirmed. Existing sector duties and limits continue; mining has an existing 0.1 mg/m³ standard. WA also confirms the national benzene date of 1 June 2027.

The current General regulations were compiled in July 2026. Final WEL implementation, incorporation into local law, private exemptions and specialist regimes require confirmation. The announcements support the published timing, while direct statutory verification remains incomplete.

WorkSafe WA transition guidance; 14 October government statement; class exemptions; current legislation; 2026 as-made register; 2026 gazettes.

WorkSafe Queensland’s confirmed arrangements state that most WELs apply from 1 December 2026, with a transition until 1 December 2029 for these 15 substances and substance groups:

• bitumen fumes
• diesel particulate matter, measured as respirable elemental carbon
• flour dust
• grain dust
• hydrogen fluoride
• manganese fume, dust and compounds
• methyl bromide
• nickel metal, powder and nickel sulphide roasting (fume and dust)
• nitric oxide
• perchloroethylene
• phosphine
• Portland cement
• styrene monomer
• sulphur dioxide
• wood dust (softwood)

During the transition, DPM has a TWA of 0.1 mg/m³ as respirable elemental carbon. Flour dust has no prescribed numerical exposure limit. The existing WES continues for the other 13 deferred substances. The transition applies to these named substances, not every Queensland WEL. General duties to eliminate or minimise exposure continue.

The WorkSafe Queensland FAQ confirms these general WHS arrangements. Mining must be assessed under the separate mining regimes described below.

Schedule 5 of the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Regulation excludes diesel particulate matter, welding fume and respirable crystalline silica from automatic incorporation of the national exposure standard. The general WEL timetable therefore does not automatically apply to Queensland mines.

QGN 21, management of diesel engine exhaust in metalliferous mines, recommends 0.1 mg/m³ measured as sub-micron elemental carbon and consideration of adjustment for non-standard work schedules. This guidance note does not establish a statutory DPM limit and is not a Guideline as defined in the mining legislation. Coal mining has a separate legal regime. Confirm the applicable mining requirements with the regulator and an occupational hygienist.

Earlier general transition guidance; exemption guidance; general WHS regulations; legislative history; mining and quarrying regulations; official gazette indexes.

WorkSafe Tasmania’s guidance identifies 1 December 2026 as the WEL commencement date and expressly includes mining, mineral processing and diesel particulate matter. The comparison therefore shows the national 0.01 mg/m³ diesel limit from that date under the published transition.

The guidance also identifies flour dust as a new listing and grain dust as revised. The comparison relies on the regulator’s published position; confirm the current implementing legislation and any workplace-specific exemptions for a compliance assessment.

Tasmanian transition guidance; exemptions; current regulations; gazette editions.

WorkSafe ACT states the December transition. Current NI 2026-340 adopts the November 2025 WES from 9 September 2026. It was made on 14 July and notified on 16 July. It does not itself adopt the future WEL list.

As at 4 November 2026, no later WEL declaration had been verified. A later instrument may change the position, so confirm the current declaration before applying the announced transition date.

ACT transition guidance; NI 2026-340; parent regulations; all-status exposure declaration search.

The Northern Territory’s approved silica code expressly states that the WEL framework starts on 1 December 2026. This supports the general date shown in the matrix; the absence of a separate announcement does not establish a delay.

The current regulations, dated 17 July 2026, incorporate WES as in force or remade from time to time under regulation 5. Regulation 13’s fixed-date default yields to an express contrary provision. Confirm the incorporation mechanism, chemical identity, any workplace-specific exemptions and additional industry requirements when assessing legal compliance.

NT regulations; legislation register; silica code; exemptions; gazettes; as-made register.

Flour dust. Flour (cereal) dust is a distinct new listing at 0.5 mg/m³ eight-hour TWA, with the inhalable particulate fraction applying by default. It is not a reduction from the grain-dust WES. See national WEL page 25 and the inhalable default on page 9. Existing general risk-control duties remain despite the absence of an old dedicated flour WES.

Grain dust. Grain dust (oats, wheat, barley) changes from 4 to 1.5 mg/m³ eight-hour TWA, inhalable. Use the correct material and fraction when comparing monitoring results; grain is not interchangeable with flour.

Methyl bromide. Methyl bromide changes from 5 to 1 ppm eight-hour TWA, with a new mass equivalent of 3.89 mg/m³ and a skin notation. An exposure limit is not a product-use approval or fumigant clearance rule.

Phosphine. Phosphine changes from TWA 0.3 to 0.05 ppm (new TWA 0.07 mg/m³). The new peak 0.15 ppm (0.21 mg/m³) replaces the old STEL of 1 ppm. A peak is not a 15-minute STEL; state dates differ as shown above.

Phosphine labels. In the 22 October 2026 SWA/APVMA statement, APVMA was not presently proposing label changes solely for the reduced WEL. Grain clearance concentrations are distinct from worker exposure. Worker breathing-zone exposure must be assessed against the applicable WEL, separately from product clearance concentrations.

National WEL list, amended November 2025; national comparison, updated 29 May 2025; 22 October phosphine label statement.

The 29 October 2026 benzene decision sets a reduction from TWA 1 ppm (3.2 mg/m³) to 0.2 ppm (0.7 mg/m³) on 1 June 2027, subject to local implementation. The current value continues until then; WA expressly repeats this date. Benzene has a separate national commencement date from the eight chemicals still under review.

The remaining eight are chlorine, copper, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide, respirable crystalline silica and titanium dioxide. Independent expert-panel work continues. Existing applicable limits remain; no further reduction or new approved date was verified. This is not an approved 2029 commencement for those eight.

For 33 non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens, numerical WELs are removed from 1 December 2026 under the national framework because safe thresholds cannot be set. Elimination/minimisation duties remain. Removal of a number is not permission for exposure; local adoption and chemical identity must be checked.

Six prohibited substances—aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin and heptachlor—are omitted from the WEL list. Existing prohibitions are not repealed; check the applicable jurisdiction’s provisions.

29 October benzene decision; 24 June decision impact statement; national framework comparison.

This summary covers published general OHS/WHS arrangements as at 5 November 2026. It includes Victoria’s 15 substance families, South Australia’s four announced deferrals, the NSW phosphine and DPM arrangements, WA’s phosphine and DPM arrangements, Queensland’s 15-substance transition, and the national benzene decision.

Other chemicals, workplace-specific exemptions and mining, petroleum or specialist regimes may have additional requirements. Public records may also be incomplete or unavailable. Confirm the substance, particle fraction, work activity and current local law before applying a limit or date. Announcements and legislation may change after the stated date.

Safe Work Australia WEL overview.