The law changes demanded as Sydney tunnel workers face death

Companies responsible for exposing tunnel workers to dangerous levels of deadly silica dust would face an extended window to be prosecuted under reforms demanded by unions, as a parliamentary inquiry hears concerns Australia is facing a “full-blown occupational disease crisis”.

The NSW upper house inquiry into silica heard a failure of leadership on multibillion-dollar Sydney infrastructure projects was undermining worker safety, and one occupational safety expert said contracting companies had been prioritising cost over staff wellbeing.

Tunnel workers are exposed to high levels of crystalline silica.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Thousands of tunnelling workers on Sydney’s mega-transport and motorway projects have been frequently exposed to deadly levels of silica dust, including 208 times the legal level. Fears of a latent public health crisis were compounded after previously confidential documents detailed how 13 staff on the M6 Stage 1 roadway had been diagnosed with silicosis, an incurable lung disease.

The revelations have intensified anger with the regulator, SafeWork NSW, for failing to hold contractors to account despite companies repeatedly breaching the legal limit for deadly dust on tunnelling sites.

A 2023 investigation by the Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes exposed serious health risks for tradespeople working with engineered stone, prompting bans on manufactured stone benchtops, panels and slabs containing at least 1 per cent silica.

The Dust Disease inquiry hearing on Friday called representatives of the nation’s largest contractors, John Holland and CPB, senior bureaucrats from SafeWork and Transport for NSW, the Australian Workers Union (AWU), and occupational hygienist Kate Cole.

While John Holland and CPB acknowledged errors had occurred in the past, both argued occupational protections for workers were sufficient, saying times when silica dust exceeded legal limits were caused by “failures” or the “absence” of safety controls.

But AWU assistant national secretary Chris Donovan said tens of thousands of documents to the parliament demonstrated these companies had repeatedly failed to protect workers from silica dust, including knowing protective face masks were an insufficient protection given they needed to be removed to communicate.

“This is not isolated non-compliance. It is systemic negligence by employers like John Holland and CPB regulators and government departments,” he said.

“Unless urgent reforms are made, this will become and, in fact, already has to a degree, become a full-blown occupational disease crisis.”

Donovan said the lag in silicosis diagnosis meant contracting companies would need to be pursued through the courts, arguing for the statute of limitations for prosecuting contracting companies to be extended from two to five years.

After several years of failing to bring compliance action against tunnelling companies, Donovan also said unions should be allowed to prosecute the regulator for negligence.

Cole argued high-tech personal equipment – full-face air purifying masks – brought in by tunnelling companies around 2022 had been available for 16 years, saying they had not been rolled out broadly before then because cost had been prioritised over worker safety.

“They have always been there. The issue has not been around the availability of this technology. The issue has been around prioritisation and cost,” she said.

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