Part 7.2: WHS Lead Regulations

Regulatory citation: Model Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 7.2, Lead

What Are the WHS Lead Regulations?

Part 7.2 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations sets extra rules for work with inorganic lead. It applies to any "lead process," such as grinding, sanding, cutting or welding lead-containing materials, working with molten lead alloys, making or breaking up lead batteries, and abrasive blasting of lead paint. The regulator can also declare a process to be a lead process.

Where a lead process is likely to raise a worker's blood lead level above 5 µg/dL for a female of reproductive capacity, or 20 µg/dL for anyone else, it is "lead risk work." That triggers notification and health monitoring duties.

Why Lead Control Matters

Lead builds up in the body and can damage the nervous system, kidneys, blood and reproductive health. It is often swallowed from contaminated hands, food or clothing as well as breathed in. The model blood lead levels were lowered in 2018.

Core Obligations

1. Inform Workers and Contain Lead (Regulations 395 to 397)

Before a worker starts a lead process, the PCBU must explain the health risks of lead. The process must be confined to a specific area as far as reasonably practicable, and that area must be kept clean using methods that do not spread dust, such as vacuuming with a suitable filter or wet cleaning.

2. Ban Eating, Drinking and Smoking in Lead Areas (Regulation 398)

The PCBU must take reasonable steps to stop workers eating, drinking or smoking in the lead process area, and must provide a separate eating and drinking area that is not contaminated.

3. Provide Changing and Washing Facilities (Regulations 399 and 400)

Workers need changing rooms and washing, showering and toilet facilities that keep lead off their skin and out of their homes. Contaminated personal protective equipment must be laundered, disposed of or removed in a way that limits exposure.

4. Identify and Notify Lead Risk Work (Regulations 402 to 404)

The PCBU must assess each lead process to decide if it is lead risk work. If it is, the regulator must be notified within 7 days of that decision. Changes to the notified details must also be reported.

5. Provide Health Monitoring (Regulations 405 to 414)

Health monitoring, including blood lead testing, must happen before a worker first starts lead risk work and again one month after they start. After that, testing follows the intervals in regulation 407 or as the supervising doctor directs. An experienced registered medical practitioner must supervise it, and the PCBU pays for it and shares the report with the worker and, where required, the regulator.

6. Remove Workers at the Set Levels (Regulations 415 to 417)

A worker must be removed from lead risk work if their blood lead level reaches 30 µg/dL, or 10 µg/dL for a female of reproductive capacity, or if the doctor recommends it. The regulator must be told as soon as reasonably possible, and a medical examination arranged within 7 days. The worker may return only when the doctor agrees and their level is below 20 µg/dL, or 5 µg/dL for a female of reproductive capacity.

7. Keep Records (Regulation 418)

Health monitoring reports must be kept as confidential records for at least 30 years.

Common Compliance Approaches

Monitor the Air as Well as the Blood

The workplace exposure standard for inorganic lead dust and fumes is 0.05 mg/m³ as an eight-hour time-weighted average. Air monitoring shows whether controls such as local exhaust ventilation and enclosures are working before blood levels rise.

Use a Clean and Dirty Change Layout

Keep work and street clothing in separate areas, with showers in between. Launder work clothing on site or through a lead-aware service.

Example: Lead Controls in Practice

A battery recycler adds a crushing line. It assesses the line as lead risk work, notifies the regulator within a week and books baseline blood tests for the crew. At the one-month check, one worker returns 24 µg/dL. The doctor shortens their testing interval, and the site reviews ventilation and hygiene before levels reach the removal point.

Related regulations: WHS hazardous chemicals, WHS general workplace facilities, EPA lead RRP rule.

Note: This summary is based on the model WHS laws published by Safe Work Australia. The model laws only take effect when a state or territory adopts them through its own legislation. All jurisdictions except Victoria have done so, with Western Australia adopting them from 31 March 2022, and some include local variations. Victoria has its own OHS laws. Always check the legislation and codes of practice that apply in your jurisdiction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all workers near lead need blood tests?

No. Mandatory health monitoring applies to workers doing lead risk work, though a PCBU can offer testing more widely.

Why are the levels lower for some female workers?

Lead crosses the placenta and can harm a developing baby, so the regulations set lower thresholds for females of reproductive capacity.

Is the lead exposure standard changing?

Workplace exposure standards are being renamed workplace exposure limits from 1 December 2026. Check the current list published by Safe Work Australia and your regulator for the value that applies.