About the legislation
The aim of the National Mine Safety Framework (NMSF) is to achieve a nationally consistent occupational health and safety (OHS) regime in the Australian mining industry.
A key element to achieving this is the development of nationally consistent mine safety legislation. As outlined in the NMSF Implementation Report, a set of drafting instructions and example clauses were developed, for each jurisdiction to use to amend existing mine safety legislation or regulations to deliver a nationally consistent approach.
This work has been integrated with the broader OHS harmonisation work being undertaken by Safe Work Australia under the direction of the Select Council on Workplace Relations, commenced in April 2008 with the National Review into Model Occupational Health and Safety Laws.
Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory will give effect to the NMSF Drafting Instructions through model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Mines Regulations under the national model WHS Act. Draft model WHS (Mines) Regulations and a series of Codes of Practice for Mining were released for public comment in July-October 2011.
In May 2010, the then Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources agreed further "non-core" work would be prepared to supplement the model WHS (Mines) Regulations in the mine safety legislation of New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, to ensure the maintenance of safety standards in the three states.
Ministers endorsed a set of "non-core" drafting instructions in August 2011, and in November 2011 signed an intergovernmental agreement outlining their commitment to ensure consistency in the adoption of the "non-core" drafting instructions and ongoing consistency over time.
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More information
For more information about the National Mine Safety Framework, email minesafety@ret.gov.au.