Safe Work Australia Introduces the WEL List

By Lily Hou, PhD., CHMM

From December 1, 2026, the Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) list for airborne contaminants will be adopted in Australia, replacing the long-standing Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) list.

The current document, Workplace Exposure Standards for Airborne contaminants, contains a list of workplace exposure standards that are mandatory under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations. These standards are listed in three forms: eight-hour time weighted average (TWA), short-term exposure limit (STEL) and peak limitation. Additional advisory information is also included, such as carcinogen category, skin absorption or sensitization.

According to the model WHS Regulations, persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) must ensure that no person at the workplace is exposed to a chemical in an airborne concentration that exceeds the WES for the chemical. Before the new WEL values come into force on December 1, 2026, compliance with the current WES remains mandatory.

The main changes introduced by the WEL list include:

• The term WES is renamed to WEL to reflect the limits not to be exceeded and to be consistent with the terminology used internationally
• Exposure limit values are added, removed or changed based on updated health evidence from the WES review
• The SEN notation is being split into DSEN for dermal sensitisers and RSEN for respiratory sensitisers
• The CARC notation for carcinogenicity is removed, since the carcinogenic hazards should be referenced in the Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS) under GHS classifications
• A new notation OTO, for ototoxicity is added for chemicals that may increase hearing-damage risk under certain conditions
• A new table for non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens has been introduced. The exposure limits for these chemicals are removed since workplaces must eliminate or minimize exposure to the chemicals as much as practicable

To assist businesses with the transition to the WEL, Safe work Australia is developing new guidance and updates that will be published throughout the transition period. Readers are encouraged to subscribe to the ‘Exposure Standards for Airborne Contaminants’ mailing list to receive alerts about the new guidance and updates regarding the adoption of WEL.

References

Workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants

Workplace exposure limits for airborne contaminants