Which workers must an NSW employer add to the Silica Worker Register?

An NSW PCBU that directs or allows a worker to carry out high-risk processing of a crystalline silica substance must notify that worker to SafeWork NSW's Silica Worker Register within 28 days after the worker begins that work. The register has applied to relevant work from 1 October 2025. It covers the worker, not every use of a silica-containing material; the high-risk classification comes from the PCBU's task risk assessment. SafeWork NSW's current Silica Worker Register guidance explains the worker, employer, timing and portal rules.

The register is a worker notification intended to help identify people who may need health monitoring. It is not a licence, proof that exposure exceeded a limit, or a replacement for controlling respirable crystalline silica dust. It is also distinct from the annual legacy engineered-stone work notice for permitted processing of an existing stone benchtop, panel or slab. A business could face both obligations on a particular task. The two should have separate owners and evidence.

Who is in scope?

Start by identifying tasks that process a crystalline silica substance (CSS): cutting, drilling, grinding, polishing and similar mechanical work can release respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust. Concrete, natural stone, masonry and other silica-containing substances may be involved. The duty does not apply simply because an employee walks past a finished solid product. The PCBU must assess whether the processing is high risk under the current NSW WHS Regulation 2025 and regulator guidance.

SafeWork NSW's PCBU obligations sheet describes high-risk processing as work reasonably likely to result in a risk to health. It says that, when classifying the task, PCBUs may consider isolation or engineering controls but must not rely on PPE or administrative controls to decide it is low risk. If uncertain, treat the processing as high risk until evidence supports another conclusion. Consult a competent occupational hygienist where exposure judgment requires specialist input.

Only workers who actually undertake high-risk CSS processing fall within this specific register. A worker who handles the records but never does that work is not automatically registered. Conversely, a worker whose job title is “labourer” may be in scope if they perform the high-risk task. Base the decision on the real activity, including subcontractor and labour-hire arrangements, rather than the employee's title or a single generic project risk rating.

Which PCBU registers a contractor's worker?

SafeWork NSW says the PCBU that directs or allows the worker to undertake high-risk CSS processing is responsible for notifying that worker. Its SWR FAQ gives the example of a subcontractor directing its own workers: the subcontractor registers them, not the principal contractor merely because the work takes place on the principal's site. The principal contractor should still confirm that the subcontractor has met its obligation and coordinate silica controls under its own duties.

For labour-hire or group-training workers, identify the real directing/allowing PCBU and document the arrangement. Health-monitoring organisation and payment are related but separate questions; the regulator's PCBU sheet says the host and labour-hire or group-training organisation should agree who will organise and pay. Do not use a contract clause as a substitute for checking what happens in practice.

Example: a flooring contractor on a large NSW project

A principal contractor engages a specialist flooring firm. The specialist's workers mechanically grind silica-containing concrete and the task assessment finds the processing high risk. Under SafeWork NSW's subcontractor example, the flooring firm's PCBU must register those workers. The principal contractor should ask for evidence of the firm's registration process and coordinate work controls, but should not assume that uploading names to its own project induction system is the statutory SWR notification. The two businesses also need to manage silica exposure at the site.

The 28-day timing and one-time notification rule

SafeWork NSW's current page says register each relevant worker within 28 days of commencing high-risk processing. It says the notification can be made only after the work has started, not with a future commencement date. Plan the administration before mobilisation, then record the actual start date and submit promptly. The phrase “within 28 days” is a backstop, not a recommendation to wait until day 28.

A PCBU generally notifies each worker once during that worker's employment with the business. It does not re-notify solely because the worker changes site or works across multiple sites; use the site address required at the point of registration. A worker moving to a new employer is a new notification for the new PCBU if they perform high-risk processing there. SafeWork says workers who stopped such work before 1 October 2025 do not need retrospective notification under this register, while work on or after that date is relevant. Verify current edge cases against the portal guidance rather than guessing.

Workers travelling into NSW from another state can be in scope if the work in NSW is high risk, according to SafeWork's FAQ. A registration held by another state, if any, should not be assumed to satisfy the NSW SWR. Work in an industry regulated under the Coal Industry Act 2001 is excluded from this particular SWR notification, according to the regulator's current page; do not generalise that exclusion to all mining work.

What information does the portal ask for?

The current SWR page lists PCBU details such as name, ABN, contact, address, workers' compensation policy number where applicable and industry. For each worker, the page lists identifying and contact details, date of birth, the high-risk processing start date, site address, tunnelling-related status and certain health-monitoring provider information. Read the live portal and privacy collection notice before gathering or submitting data because the field list and interface can change.

The portal allows individual entries or a bulk upload for larger workforces. Assign a trained person to check that the employer entity matches the relevant worker's employment and that contact details are accurate. The regulator's FAQ says a worker should receive an automated email if the PCBU provides a correct address and recommends telling workers before registration. Save submission evidence and record who reviewed it. Do not circulate date-of-birth or health-related information through a general site spreadsheet when a restricted-access process is appropriate.

SafeWork's current privacy collection notice explains the purposes of the worker information and data sharing with icare for eligible health-monitoring services. It says the register is not public. The regulator's FAQ says health-monitoring results are not entered into the SWR. A PCBU should not put confidential medical findings into a free-text field merely to make the notice feel complete.

Health monitoring and exposure controls remain separate duties

Being on the register does not mean the worker has been exposed above the workplace exposure standard or has a disease. SafeWork describes registration as preventive. The PCBU still needs to assess and control RCS exposure, provide approved training for workers involved in high-risk processing or exposed because of it, and conduct air or health monitoring where the law requires. SafeWork NSW's obligations sheet explains these related duties and distinguishes the control plan or construction SWMS from the worker register.

Where ongoing high-risk processing presents a significant risk to health, the PCBU must arrange health monitoring through a suitable medical practitioner under the applicable rule. The worker register may help connect eligible workers to icare services, but notification is not the monitoring itself. A principal contractor or client should not interpret a screenshot of registration as evidence that extraction, wet methods, respiratory protection, exposure monitoring and medical follow-up are adequate.

A practical employer workflow

1. Map the tasks that process crystalline silica substances in NSW.
2. Assess high risk under the current NSW regulation, without treating PPE or administrative controls as proof of low risk.
3. Identify the responsible PCBU for each worker, including subcontractor and labour-hire arrangements.
4. Record the actual commencement date for each worker who starts high-risk processing.
5. Prepare restricted-access personal data from the current SWR field list and tell workers how it will be used.
6. Submit through SafeWork's SWR portal within 28 days, saving the acknowledgment.
7. Link the record to training and health monitoring, while keeping medical results in their proper confidential system.
8. Check new starters and employers, rather than assuming a site-level once-only check covers all later workers.

How Complys may support the workflow

The verified Complys AU induction and training tracking page says it can store role-specific WHS training and evidence with reminders. That may support the worker's silica training record and a process reminder, subject to current product configuration. It does not show that Complys submits names to the NSW SWR, determines whether processing is high risk, stores medical results appropriately, arranges health monitoring or certifies compliance. Use SafeWork NSW's portal for the actual notification and keep the government's acknowledgment.

Businesses should avoid unnecessary duplication of sensitive data. A minimal internal register can record the worker's name or employee identifier, high-risk start date, responsible PCBU, SWR submission date/reference, training status and control-plan location. Apply appropriate access restrictions; use the system's real permissions rather than assuming all staff should see the file.

Common mistakes

• Registering every worker who touches solid stone. The SWR criterion is high-risk CSS processing, established by assessment.
• Using PPE to declare processing low risk. The current regulator sheet says PPE and administrative measures cannot be considered for that classification step.
• Assuming the principal contractor registers a subcontractor's staff. Check which PCBU directs or allows the work.
• Submitting before the start date as a future worker. SafeWork says the portal cannot accept a future commencement date.
• Waiting to register until a monitoring result is poor. The 28-day clock starts with high-risk processing work.
• Confusing the SWR with the legacy-stone work notice. They are different notifications with different subjects.
• Treating registration as proof of safe exposure. Controls and monitoring remain necessary.
• Putting medical reports in an open training file. Preserve worker privacy and follow the specific health-record duties.

Next step

Review each NSW silica-processing task and worker against the current SafeWork NSW SWR criteria, agree which PCBU submits the notification, and set a start-date-driven reminder well before day 28. Keep the regulator acknowledgment with the task assessment, control plan, training and health-monitoring responsibility records. Compare Complys training tracking with your confirmed internal record needs; use the NSW portal for the statutory submission.

For the related Complys product, see Induction Training Tracking Software. This guide is general information, not legal advice; verify current requirements against the official sources linked above.