From 1 December 2026, Australia adopts the Workplace exposure limits for airborne contaminants list, usually called the WEL list. Some limits stay the same, and some become tighter. Diesel particulate matter is added, and 33 non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens no longer have numerical exposure limits.
Until 1 December 2026, businesses must still comply with the current workplace exposure standards, or WES list. The rename itself makes no change to obligations under WHS regulations. The practical issue is that some old monitoring reports may no longer answer the question you need answered.
What actually changes on 1 December 2026?
Safe Work Australia has published the changes between the current WES list and the new WEL list. Many entries are unchanged, but some common workplace contaminants have lower limits from 1 December 2026.
There are also new notations, including OTO for ototoxicity and sensitiser notations. The carcinogenicity notation is removed. For 33 non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens, including chromium VI compounds, there will no longer be a numerical workplace exposure limit. If one of those is present, it must be eliminated if reasonably practicable, replaced with a safer alternative if possible, or the risk reduced as much as reasonably practicable.
The exposure limit is also not the dividing line between a healthy and unhealthy work environment. It is a legal benchmark, but exposures still need to be controlled properly.
Which construction and concrete sites should recheck reports?
Construction, demolition and concrete work should look closely at what was actually sampled. Portland cement moves from 10 mg/m3 to 1 mg/m3, measured as respirable dust. Calcium sulfate, which includes gypsum and plaster, moves from 10 mg/m3 to 1.5 mg/m3 respirable.
Respirable crystalline silica stays at 0.05 mg/m3 as an eight-hour time-weighted average. That does not mean silica can be ignored. If your concern is silica from concrete, bricks, tiles or stone, that remains respirable crystalline silica monitoring rather than general dust monitoring.
What about joinery and wood dust?
Joinery shops, sawmills and other workplaces generating wood dust should check whether old reports dealt with softwood dust properly. From 1 December 2026, the softwood dust limit drops from 5 mg/m3 to 2 mg/m3.
Wood dust can be generated by machining operations like sawing, routing and turning, or by hand or machine sanding. If your old report only treated dust as a general nuisance dust, it may not be enough for the new limit.
What about welding and fabrication?
The overall limit for welding fumes not otherwise classified stays at 1 mg/m3. The important changes are to individual substances that can make up the fume, including manganese, nickel and cobalt, and to chromium VI compounds, which are on the non-threshold genotoxic carcinogen list. Our 26 October article covers welding fume in more detail, including when welding fume monitoring should be reviewed.
What about warehouses, loading docks and workshops?
Diesel particulate matter is new to the list, with a WEL of 0.01 mg/m3 measured as respirable elemental carbon. That matters for workplaces where diesel exhaust can affect workers, including warehouses, loading docks and workshops.
Carbon monoxide moves from 30 ppm to 20 ppm, and nitric oxide moves from 25 ppm to 2 ppm. These are all eight-hour time-weighted averages. If an old assessment did not include diesel particulate monitoring because there was no WES for it, that gap is worth checking before December.
What about painting and solvent work?
Painting and solvent work should look at toluene and styrene. Both move from 50 ppm to 20 ppm as eight-hour time-weighted averages.
The new OTO notation also needs attention. OTO means ototoxicity. In practice, if solvent work is part of your site, read the old report to see whether it simply compared airborne solvent levels with the old ppm limit, or whether the relevant notations and the actual work conditions were considered.
Do you need new monitoring?
Not automatically. A recent monitoring program can still be useful if it represents the work being done now, the process and materials have not changed, and the contaminants that matter were actually measured.
The first step is to re-read the old reports. Check the date, the substance, the dust fraction, the task sampled, the controls in place, and whether the report used personal exposure monitoring in the worker’s breathing zone. A result for total dust does not necessarily answer a question about respirable cement dust. A total welding fume result does not necessarily answer the question about manganese, nickel, cobalt or chromium VI.
The existing air-monitoring duty also remains. If you are not certain whether exposure exceeds the limit, or monitoring is needed to find out whether there is a risk to health, air monitoring is required. Respiratory protection can be taken into account only once higher-order controls are in place.
SafeWork NSW says businesses should review controls as soon as possible. That is sensible advice. If a process is likely to be affected by a lower limit, it is better to check the controls now than to wait until the new list applies.
How does Airsafe do the monitoring?
Personal exposure monitoring is generally the starting point because it measures the air in the worker’s breathing zone while the job is being done. The sampling strategy has to represent the actual process, materials, duration and controls.
Airsafe takes samples on site using calibrated sampling equipment under our NATA accreditation for sampled-air volume measurement. That accreditation is for measuring the volume of air sampled. Where laboratory analysis of dust, silica, welding-fume metals, diesel particulate or solvents is required, the samples are analysed by an external NATA-accredited laboratory.
For workplace exposure monitoring, call Airsafe on 1300 888 338.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a workplace exposure standard and a workplace exposure limit?
Workplace exposure standards are the current Australian limits for airborne contaminants such as dusts, gases, fumes, vapours and mists. From 1 December 2026, workplace exposure limits replace that wording. SafeWork NSW says the new term makes clearer that the limits should not be exceeded and brings Australia into line with terminology used internationally. The change of name by itself doesn’t alter WHS obligations.
Which exposure limits change on 1 December 2026?
Common limits that become lower are Portland cement, calcium sulfate, softwood dust, manganese, nickel metal and insoluble compounds, cobalt metal and inorganic compounds, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, toluene and styrene. Diesel particulate matter is added. The 33 non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens, including chromium VI compounds, lose their numerical limits. Many other entries stay unchanged.
What is a non-threshold genotoxic carcinogen?
On the WEL list it is one of 33 carcinogens, including chromium VI compounds, that will no longer have a numerical exposure limit from 1 December 2026 because no safe level is set for them. If one is present at your workplace, the duty is to eliminate it where reasonably practicable, use a safer alternative if possible, or otherwise reduce the risk as much as reasonably practicable.
Do I need new air monitoring before 1 December 2026?
You may be able to use a recent monitoring program if it still represents the work being done, the process and materials have stayed the same, and the relevant contaminants were measured. In an old report, look for when sampling was done, the substance and dust fraction, the task, the controls, and personal breathing-zone sampling. If you can’t be certain whether exposure exceeds the limit, air monitoring is required.
What does the OTO notation mean?
OTO means ototoxicity. It flags a chemical that can harm hearing. In practice, when an OTO substance is relevant, read the old air monitoring report for the airborne concentration, the notation and the actual work conditions.
Where can I find the new WEL list?
Safe Work Australia publishes the workplace exposure limits for airborne contaminants list. Safe Work Australia also publishes the comparison showing changes between the current WES list and the new WEL list. SafeWork NSW says the exposure standards, the exposure limits and Safe Work Australia’s tips for complying are on the Safe Work Australia website.
