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Products and services banner Safety training Safety training – then, now and the future fantasy No matter what form the statutory frameworks take, implementing adequate and effective training requirements will obviously continue to play an important role in striving to reach the nirvana of zero harm in the mining industry, writes . T he mining industry has come a long way on the safety journey. Talk to anyone who has been in the industry for any signifi cant amount of time and they will tell you how safety has become part of the culture and that zero harm is seen as an achievable reality, not a distant dream. There are many factors that have contributed to this outcome, but perhaps the most obvious contribution has come through safety training, which serves to raise awareness of issues and to provide workers with the knowledge and instruction necessary to protect themselves and others. Safety laws across Australia place obligations on industry participants to ensure that they train their workers. However, to meet statutory obligations, training the workforce means more than performing a 'tick a box' exercise, putting up a few posters and letting workers learn 'on the job'. Rather, it requires a training package that ensures mine workers are competent to perform their duties. So what are the requirements for training under the current laws and where are we heading under the proposals for 'harmonised' workplace health and safety laws in the mining industry? Let's take a look at the position for the key mining states, being Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. Current position Within a legal context, ensuring that adequate training and induction systems are in place will be an important factor when courts determine responsibility as part of a duty of care owed in either workplace health and safety prosecutions or civil cases. Current mining safety and health legislation imposes duty of care obligations on all industry participants to manage hazards or risk exposure to acceptable levels to ensure the wellbeing of all workers and contractors. The Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australian laws have broad similarities, but also contain some signifi cant differences. Queensland provisions In Queensland, the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) allows for recognised standards to be made about safety matters. Recognised standard 11, titled 'Training in Coal Mining' (Queensland Standard), sets out requirements for training in coal mines and seeks to assist sites to establish and maintain a training system that includes identifying training needs and the delivery of competent and safe training modules. The Queensland Standard also covers induction, technical certifi cation, how to recognise prior learning and workplace assessment. As part of induction training, the Queensland Standard outlines minimum requirements for the Generic Workplace Health and Safety Induction in the coal mining sector. The Queensland Standard also provides guidance about reviewing training competencies, refresher training and the process required to perform a training needs analysis within a workplace. Each of these components must be maintained as a business priority beyond the time when an employee is initially inducted in order to minimise the risk of safety incidents occurring or, in a worst case scenario, to assist in providing a defence in the event that it becomes necessary for a court to assess responsibility for a safety breach. While not mandatory, the Queensland Standard provides guidance for meeting safety and health obligations and any departure from it would need to be justifi ed on the basis that the requirements within the Queensland Standard are being met or exceeded. Outside of the coal mining sector, the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) (MQSH Act) under section 39(1) requires the site senior executive of the mine to develop, implement and maintain a safety and health management structure. This structure needs to encompass workplace training so that workers are competent to perform their duties. To compliment this, the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Regulation 2001 (Qld) outlines that a site senior executive must ensure there is appropriate training and periodic assessment and must also allocate time to workers for leadership, guidance and training to ensure workers can carry out tasks without creating an unacceptable level of risk. In addition, while not having the status of a guideline made under the MQHS Act, Guidance Note QGN14 titled 'Effective Safety and Health Supervision' (Qld Guidance Note), provides suggestions for safety and health management under which leadership, training, safety awareness and competency-based training is considered a part of 'doing business'. The Queensland Guidance Note also describes the statutory requirements for managers and supervisors which underscore the need to provide appropriate training to workers for task specifi c, emergency, continuous improvement, and other safety and health training programs. New South Wales provisions In New South Wales, the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act 2002 (NSW) includes a statutory obligation for mine operators to include training as an element within the health and safety management system. Further provisions covering the emergency management system also include training as an essential component. Cameron Dean 46 The Australasian Mine Safety Journal Spring 2011