Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007 (Western Australia)

The Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007 (WA) set out a regulatory regime for places where Schedule 1 substances are present or likely to be present above defined trigger quantities. Mechanically the instrument does three core things.

First, it establishes quantitative triggers and a methodology for deciding when a place attracts the regime. Schedule 1 contains specific threshold quantities (Table 1) and category thresholds (Table 2). The regulations prescribe how to calculate the quantity of a substance present at or likely to be at a place (r.8) and how to convert mixtures into substance quantities (r.8(2)). The concept of a critical quantity is defined in r.9 by reference to threshold quantities and a formula that aggregates multiple substances; a single Schedule 1 substance exceeds the critical quantity at a place if more than 10 per cent of its threshold quantity is present (r.9(2)(a)). For multiple substances a fractional-sum formula applies (r.9(2)(b)).

Second, the regulations impose procedural duties triggered by those quantities. Operators must notify the Chief Officer in a set form and with defined content (r.14-17; Sch.2) if more than the critical quantity is likely to be at the place and the Chief Officer has not yet decided whether to classify the place as a major hazard facility (r.14). Operators must notify before implementing significant changes that would cause the critical quantity to be exceeded (r.15). The Chief Officer also has power to direct notification where the Chief Officer reasonably suspects the critical quantity is exceeded and a major incident could occur (r.16).

Third, the regulations create a substantive operating regime for places classified as major hazard facilities. The Chief Officer decides whether a place is a major hazard facility (r.19), must consult before classifying (r.20) and must notify decisions (r.21). If a place is classified as a major hazard facility the operator must have an approved safety report before the dates set out in the decision notice, and from the compliance day the operator must operate in accordance with the safety management system in the approved safety report (r.11, r.21(2), r.13). The operator must prepare a risk assessment (r.23), a safety management system (r.24) and a safety report (r.25); those documents are prescribed to be safety management documents for the purposes of the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 (r.23(3), r.24(3), r.25(3)). The Chief Officer approves safety reports under r.27, may withdraw approval (r.28) but must consult and provide an opportunity to make submissions before refusing approval or withdrawing (r.29). The operator must review and, where required, amend the safety report, risk assessment and safety management system in specific circumstances (r.30).

CrestWestern Australia

Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004

Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007

Western Australia

Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

Citation 1
Commencement 1
Application of regulations 1
Terms used 2
Major hazard facility, meaning of 6
Place, meaning of 6
When Sch. 1 substances are likely to be at a place 7
Quantity of substances at or likely to be at a place, determining 8
Critical quantity of Sch. 1 substances at or likely to be at a place, determining 9
Threshold quantity for a Sch. 1 substance, determining 10

Part 2 — Main offences

Sch. 1 substances at a place not to exceed critical quantity without prior notification to Chief Officer 11
No significant change to certain places without prior notification to Chief Officer 11
Major hazard facility to operate in accordance with safety management system in approved safety report 12

Part 3 — Notification requirements

Operator to notify Chief Officer if more than critical quantity of Sch. 1 substances likely to be at place 13
Operator of certain places to notify Chief Officer of certain changes 13
Chief Officer may direct operator to give notification in some cases 14
Notification required under r. 14, 15 and 16, form and content of 15
Chief Officer may direct operator to give further information 16

Part 4 — Certain places to be major hazard facilities

Classifying places as major hazard facilities, Chief Officer’s functions as to 17
Chief Officer to consult before classifying place as major hazard facility 18
Chief Officer to notify decision whether or not to classify a place as a major hazard facility 18
Chief Officer may revoke decision to classify place as major hazard facility 19

Part 5 — Safety reports

Risk assessment, operator of major hazard facility to prepare 20
Safety management system, operator of major hazard facility to prepare 21
Safety report, operator of major hazard facility to prepare 21
Safety report, application for approval of 22
Safety report, approval of by Chief Officer 22
Withdrawal of approval of safety report 23
Chief Officer to consult etc. before refusing to approve or withdrawing approval of safety report 23
Safety report, review of by operator of major hazard facility 24

Part 6 — Miscellaneous

Major hazard facilities near to one another, Chief Officer may direct one to give information to the other 27
Closure of major hazard facility, operator to notify Chief Officer of 27
Classes of major hazard facility for purposes of fees 27
Annual fee for major hazard facilities 28

Schedule 1 — Threshold quantity for Schedule 1 substances

Threshold quantity for substances 31
Threshold quantity for categories of substances 33

Schedule 2 — Notifiable information

Term used: material safety data sheet 38
Notifiable information 38

Schedule 3 — Fees

Fees for approval of safety reports (r. 26) 39
Annual fees for major hazard facilities (r. 34) 39

Schedule 4 — Procedures to be included in safety management system

Skills etc. of employees, procedures to ensure 41
Operation etc. of plant etc., procedures for 41
Security, procedures to ensure 41
Safety information, procedures to ensure employees are given 41
Risk control measures, procedures to ensure monitoring of etc. 42

Notes

Compilation table 43

Other notes 45

Defined terms

Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004

Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007

Part 1 — Preliminary

1. Citation

These regulations are the Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007.

2. Commencement

These regulations come into operation as follows:

(a) regulations 1 and 2 — on the day on which these regulations are published in the Gazette;

(b) the rest of the regulations — on the day on which Part 3 of the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 comes into operation.

3. Application of regulations

(1) Except as provided in subregulation (2), these regulations apply to and in relation to a place at which more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is present or is likely to be present.

(2) These regulations do not apply to or in relation to a place if —

(a) the type and quantity of Schedule 1 substances and any other dangerous goods that are or are likely to be present at the place, and the circumstances in which the goods are or are likely to be present, are such that the place is not required to be licensed under the Dangerous Goods Safety (Explosives) Regulations 2007 or the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non‑explosives) Regulations 2007; or

(b) the only dangerous goods that are or are likely to be present at the place are explosives (as defined in the Dangerous Goods Safety (Explosives) Regulations 2007 regulation 3), and the circumstances in which the explosives are or are likely to be present are such that an explosive storage licence, but no other licence, is required in relation to the place under those regulations.

4. Terms used

In these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears —

ADG Code means the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail (also called the Australian Dangerous Goods Code) published by the National Transport Commission, including (for the avoidance of doubt) its appendices;

AE Code means the Australian Code for the Transport of Explosives by Road and Rail Code, Second Edition, 2000, published by the Commonwealth of Australia (ISBN 0 642 41486 6) (also called the Australian Explosives Code) including (for the avoidance of doubt) its technical appendices;

approved safety report, in relation to a place, means the document last approved by the Chief Officer under regulation 27(1) for that place and the approval of which has not been withdrawn under regulation 28(1);

commencement day means the day on which the Act Part 3 comes into operation;

compliance day, in relation to a major hazard facility, means —

(a) in the case of a facility other than a modified place —

(i) if, at the time notice of the Chief Officer’s decision to classify the facility as a major hazard facility is given to the operator under regulation 21(1), more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the facility —

(I) the day specified in the notice under regulation 21(2)(a)(i); or

(II) if the day after the day when the safety report for the facility is first approved under regulation 27(1) is earlier than the day referred to in item (I) — the day after the day when the safety report for the facility is first approved;

(ii) if, at the time of such notice, more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is likely to be at the facility — the day when more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the facility for the first time;

(b) in the case of a modified place — the day when the notifiable change occurs;

critical quantity, for Schedule 1 substances at a place or likely to be at a place, means the critical quantity determined under regulation 9;

Dangerous Goods List means the list set out in the ADG Code section 3.2.3;

employee, at a place, means any person who works at the place under —

(a) a contract of service; or

(b) a contract for services; or

existing facility means a place —

(a) at which more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is present; and

(b) that immediately before the commencement day —

(i) was a dangerous goods site licensed under the Explosives and Dangerous Goods (Dangerous Goods Handling and Storage) Regulations 1992 1; and

(ii) at which more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances was permitted, under the licence, to be present;

harm means —

(a) injury to, or harm to the health of, an individual; or

(b) damage or harm to property or the environment;

hazard means any activity, procedure, plant, process, substance, situation or other circumstance that could be a cause of a major incident;

major hazard facility has the meaning given in regulation 5;

major incident means an incident involving or affecting a Schedule 1 substance, including —

(a) an emission of a Schedule 1 substance; or

(b) a loss of containment of a Schedule 1 substance; or

(d) an explosion; or

(e) a release of energy,

that causes serious harm to people, property or the environment;

modified place means a place —

(a) in respect of which an operator is required to give the Chief Officer notification under regulation 15(3); and

(b) that becomes, subsequent to the operator giving notification under regulation 15(3), a major hazard facility;

notifiable change, in relation to a modified place, means the change that gives rise to the requirement to give the Chief Officer notification under regulation 15(3) in respect of the place;

notifiable information means the information listed in Schedule 2;

operator, of a place, including a major hazard facility, means the person who has the control or management of the place;

place has the meaning given in regulation 6;

relevant time, in relation to a risk assessment or safety report for a major hazard facility, means —

(a) in the case of a facility other than a modified place —

(i) if more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the facility — the present; or

(ii) if more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is likely to be at the place — the time when more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the facility for the first time;

(b) in the case of a modified place —

(i) if the notifiable change has occurred — the present; or

(ii) if the notifiable change has not occurred — the time when the notifiable change occurs;

risk assessment means a document that complies with regulation 23(2);

safety management system means a document that complies with regulation 24(2);

safety report means a document that complies with regulation 25(2) and includes a safety report amended under regulation 30;

Schedule 1 substance means a substance listed in Schedule 1 Table 1 or a substance belonging to a category of substances listed in Schedule 1 Table 2;

zoning, in relation to an area of land, means the permitted land use under a planning scheme as defined in the Planning and Development Act 2005 section 4(1).

[Regulation 4 amended: Gazette 22 Jun 2010 p. 2783; 5 Feb 2016 p. 359‑60; SL 2020/193 r. 6.]

5. Major hazard facility, meaning of

A place is a major hazard facility for the purposes of these regulations if —

(a) the operator of the place has been given a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision to classify the place as a major hazard facility; and

(b) the Chief Officer has not subsequently revoked that decision under regulation 22.

6. Place, meaning of

(1) An area of land, or of water, or of land and water is a place for the purposes of these regulations if it is controlled or managed by one person.

(2) Two or more areas of land, or of water, or of land and water that are situated near each other are one place for the purposes of these regulations if —

(a) all areas are controlled or managed by one person; and

(b) the Chief Officer determines that the areas are to be treated as one place for the purposes of these regulations.

(3) In this regulation, a person is to be taken to control or manage an area of land or water if the person controls or manages —

(a) a dock; or

(b) a pier; or

(d) a pipeline; or

(e) a conveying system,

situated on, over or in the area.

7. When Sch. 1 substances are likely to be at a place

For the purposes of these regulations, a Schedule 1 substance is likely to be at a place in a particular quantity if the operator of the place has made a decision to —

(a) implement a change to the plant or a process at the place that is likely to result in the substance being at the place in that quantity; or

(b) introduce new plant or a new process at the place that is likely to result in the substance being at the place in that quantity.

8. Quantity of substances at or likely to be at a place, determining

(1) For the purposes of these regulations, the quantity of a substance that is at a place, or that is likely to be at a place, at a particular time is determined by adding —

(a) the maximum quantity of the substance that could be present at the place at that time in —

(i) process vessels and interconnecting piping and conveying systems; and

(ii) storage tanks, storage vessels and storage areas; and

(iii) pipelines outside process areas;

and

(b) the maximum quantity of the substance that could, at that time, escape onto, or escape into the airspace above, the place as a result of the failure of a pipeline connected to (but not part of) the place; and

(c) any other quantity of the substance that is at the place, or is likely to be at the place, as the case requires, at that time but is not included in the quantities referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(2) If a substance is at a place, or is likely to be at a place, as part of a mixture, the quantity of the substance present in that mixture is to be calculated using this formula —

View image in the official source

where —

a is the quantity of the mixture that contains the substance; and

b is the percentage of the mixture that is the substance; and

c is the quantity of the substance present in the mixture.

9. Critical quantity of Sch. 1 substances at or likely to be at a place, determining

(1) In this regulation —

threshold quantity, for a Schedule 1 substance, is the threshold quantity determined under regulation 10.

(2) For the purposes of these regulations, more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at a place, or is likely to be at a place, if —

(a) in the case of a place where only one Schedule 1 substance is present, or is likely to be present, more than 10% of the threshold quantity for the substance is at the place, or is likely to be at the place, as the case requires; or

(b) in the case of a place where more than one Schedule 1 substance is present, or is likely to be present, the application of the following formula to those substances produces a result greater than 0.1 —

View image in the official source

where —

x, y … and n are the different Schedule 1 substances at the place, or likely to be at the place, as the case requires (excluding any substance that is at the place, or likely to be at the place, as the case requires, in a quantity less than 2% of its threshold quantity); and

qx, qy … and qn are the quantities of x, y … and n at the place, or likely to be at the place, as the case requires; and

Qx, Qy … and Qn are the threshold quantities for x, y … and n.

10. Threshold quantity for a Sch. 1 substance, determining

(1) In this regulation —

Table 1 means Schedule 1 Table 1;

Table 2 means Schedule 1 Table 2.

(2) If a Schedule 1 substance is listed in column 1 of Table 1, the threshold quantity for the substance is that specified opposite the substance in column 3 of Table 1, regardless of whether the substance also belongs to a category described in Table 2.

(3) Unless subregulation (4) applies, if a substance is not listed in Table 1 but belongs to a category listed in column 1 of Table 2, the threshold quantity for the substance is that specified opposite the substance in column 2 of Table 2.

(4) If a substance is not listed in Table 1 but belongs to more than one of the categories listed in column 1 of Table 2, the threshold quantity for the substance is the lower or lowest of the threshold quantities specified for those categories.

(5) If in the course of determining whether a substance belongs to a particular category listed in column 1 of Table 2 a question arises as to what procedure is the relevant procedure referred to in the definitions of class, classification code, division, hazchem code, packing group and subsidiary hazard in Schedule 1 clause 2, the question is to be decided by the Chief Officer.

(6) A decision by the Chief Officer under subregulation (5) is final and conclusive.

[Regulation 10 amended: SL 2020/193 r. 7.]

Part 2 — Main offences

11. Sch. 1 substances at a place not to exceed critical quantity without prior notification to Chief Officer

(1) The operator of a place must ensure that no more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is present at the place until —

(a) the operator has been given a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision not to classify the place as a major hazard facility; or

(b) if the operator has been given a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision to classify the place as a major hazard facility — there is an approved safety report for the place.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

(2) Subregulation (1) does not apply in relation to an existing facility.

12. No significant change to certain places without prior notification to Chief Officer

An operator who is required to give the Chief Officer notification under regulation 15(3) in respect of a place must ensure that the notifiable change does not occur until —

(a) the operator has, subsequent to the operator giving notification under regulation 15, been given a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision not to classify the place as a major hazard facility; or

(b) if the operator has, subsequent to the operator giving notification under regulation 15, been given a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision to classify the place as a major hazard facility — there is an approved safety report for the place.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

13. Major hazard facility to operate in accordance with safety management system in approved safety report

On and after the compliance day, the operator of a major hazard facility must not store, handle or transport dangerous goods at the facility except in accordance with the safety management system identified in the approved safety report for the facility.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

Part 3 — Notification requirements

14. Operator to notify Chief Officer if more than critical quantity of Sch. 1 substances likely to be at place

The operator of a place must give the Chief Officer notification that complies with regulation 17 as soon as practicable if —

(a) more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is likely to be at the place; and

(b) the operator has not been given a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision whether to classify the place as a major hazard facility.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

15. Operator of certain places to notify Chief Officer of certain changes

(1) In this regulation —

notifiable change, in relation to a place, means a significant change to —

(a) any plant, process or substance used at the place (including the introduction of new plant, process or substance); or

(b) the layout of the place or where dangerous goods are to be stored, handled or transported within the place.

(2) This regulation applies to the operator of a place at which more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is present, or is likely to be present, but is not a major hazard facility by reason of the operator having been given —

(a) a notice under regulation 21(1) of the Chief Officer’s decision not to classify the place as a major hazard facility; or

(b) a notice under regulation 22(3)(b) of the Chief Officer’s decision to revoke a decision to classify the place as a major hazard facility.

(3) If the operator makes a decision to implement a notifiable change and the change is likely to result in Schedule 1 substances continuing to be, or being, at the place in more than the critical quantity, the operator of the place must as soon as practicable give the Chief Officer written notice of the operator’s decision.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

(4) If the operator becomes aware of a change in the notifiable information for the place previously given to the Chief Officer, other than a change referred to in subregulation (3), the operator must as soon as practicable inform the Chief Officer about the matter and give the correct information to the Chief Officer.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

[Regulation 15 amended: Gazette 22 Jun 2010 p. 2783.]

16. Chief Officer may direct operator to give notification in some cases

(1) If the Chief Officer suspects on reasonable grounds that —

(a) more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at a place, or is likely to be at a place, that is not a major hazard facility; and

(b) a major incident could occur at the place,

the Chief Officer may, in writing, direct the operator of the place to give the Chief Officer notification that complies with regulation 17 within the period specified in the direction or any longer period permitted by the Chief Officer.

(2) An operator must comply with a direction given under subregulation (1).

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

17. Notification required under r. 14, 15 and 16, form and content of

(1) In this regulation —

relevant date, in relation to a notification given in respect of a place, means —

(a) in the case of a place other than a place in respect of which notification is given under regulation 15(3) —

(i) if more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the place when the notification is given — the date of the notification; or

(ii) if more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is likely to be at the place when the notification is given — the day when more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is expected to be at the place for the first time;

(b) in the case of a place in respect of which notification is given under regulation 15(3) — the day when the notifiable change is expected to occur.

(2) The notification required under regulation 14, 15 or 16 must —

(a) be in writing; and

(b) state the relevant date; and

(c) contain the notifiable information for the place as it exists, or as the operator expects it will exist, on the relevant date.

18. Chief Officer may direct operator to give further information

(1) The Chief Officer may, in writing, direct an operator who has given notification under this Part to provide the additional information specified in the direction within the period specified in the direction or any longer period permitted by the Chief Officer.

(2) An operator must comply with a direction given under subregulation (1).

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

Part 4 — Certain places to be major hazard facilities

19. Classifying places as major hazard facilities, Chief Officer’s functions as to

(1) The Chief Officer must decide whether or not to classify an existing facility as a major hazard facility for the purposes of these regulations.

(2) On receiving a notification under Part 3 from the operator of a place, the Chief Officer must decide whether or not to classify the place as a major hazard facility for the purposes of these regulations.

(3) The Chief Officer may decide to classify a place as a major hazard facility for the purposes of these regulations if the Chief Officer is satisfied on reasonable grounds that —

(a) more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the place or is likely to be at the place; and

(b) a major incident could occur at the place.

(4) The matters to be considered by the Chief Officer when determining whether a major incident could occur at a place include —

(a) the quantity and properties of Schedule 1 substances at the place or likely to be at the place; and

(b) the circumstances in which Schedule 1 substances are or will be stored, handled or transported while at the place; and

(c) any other written law that applies to the place for the purpose of ensuring that dangerous goods are stored, handled and transported safely; and

(d) the likely effects of an incident occurring at the place on people, property or the environment outside, as well as inside, the place.

20. Chief Officer to consult before classifying place as major hazard facility

Before the Chief Officer decides to classify a place as a major hazard facility for the purposes of these regulations, the Chief Officer must —

(a) give the operator of the place written notice of —

(i) the Chief Officer’s intention to make the decision; and

(ii) the reasons for the intended decision;

and

(b) invite the operator to make submissions to the Chief Officer in relation to the intended decision before a date specified in the notice; and

21. Chief Officer to notify decision whether or not to classify a place as a major hazard facility

(1) On deciding whether or not to classify a place as a major hazard facility for the purposes of these regulations, the Chief Officer must give the operator of the place written notice of the Chief Officer’s decision.

(2) If the Chief Officer decides to classify a place as a major hazard facility, the notice given to the operator under subregulation (1) must include a statement to the effect that the operator must have an approved safety report for the place before the following day —

(a) in the case of a place other than a modified place —

(i) if more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the place — the day specified in the notice;

(ii) if more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is likely to be at the place — the day when more than the critical quantity of Schedule 1 substances is at the facility for the first time;

(b) in the case of a modified place — the day when the notifiable change occurs.

(3) If the Chief Officer decides to classify an existing facility as a major hazard facility, the date specified in the notice under subregulation (2)(a)(i) is to be —

(a) a date not earlier than the first anniversary of the commencement day; or

(b) a date agreed between the Chief Officer and the operator.

22. Chief Officer may revoke decision to classify place as major hazard facility

(1) The Chief Officer may revoke a decision made under regulation 19 to classify a place as a major hazard facility if the Chief Officer is no longer satisfied as required under regulation 19(3) in respect of the place.

(2) The operator of a major hazard facility may, in writing, request the Chief Officer to revoke the decision made under regulation 19 to classify the place as a major hazard facility.

(3) Within 90 days of receiving a request under subregulation (2) from the operator of a place, the Chief Officer must —

(a) decide whether or not to revoke the decision made under regulation 19 in respect of the place; and

(b) give the operator a written notice of the decision made under paragraph (a).

Part 5 — Safety reports

23. Risk assessment, operator of major hazard facility to prepare

(1) The operator of a major hazard facility must prepare a risk assessment for the facility.

(2) A risk assessment for a facility is a document that —

(a) identifies all hazards relating to dangerous goods at the facility as it exists, or as the operator expects it will exist, at the relevant time; and

(b) for each hazard, assesses —

(i) the probability of the hazard causing a major incident; and

(ii) the nature of the harm to people, property and the environment that is likely to result from the occurrence of that incident;

and

(c) for each hazard, identifies the measures (risk control measures) that will eliminate or, if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate, that will reduce so far as reasonably practicable —

(i) the probability of the hazard causing a major incident; and

(ii) the harm to people, property and the environment that is likely to result from the occurrence of that incident;

and

(d) records the method of reasoning used to determine the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c); and

(e) has been prepared in consultation with employees and records the details of the consultation; and

(f) is in a form acceptable to the Chief Officer.

(3) A risk assessment is prescribed to be a safety management document for the purposes of the definition of safety management document in the Act section 3(1).

24. Safety management system, operator of major hazard facility to prepare

(1) The operator of a major hazard facility must prepare a safety management system for the facility.

(2) A safety management system for a facility is a document that —

(a) records the policies and procedures for implementing and managing the risk control measures identified in the risk assessment for the facility, including the procedures referred to in Schedule 4; and

(b) has been prepared in consultation with employees and records the details of the consultation; and

(3) A safety management system is prescribed to be a safety management document for the purposes of the definition of safety management document in the Act section 3(1).

25. Safety report, operator of major hazard facility to prepare

(1) The operator of a major hazard facility must prepare a safety report for the facility.

(2) A safety report for a facility is a document that —

(a) contains the notifiable information for the facility as it exists, or as the operator expects it will exist, at the relevant time; and

(b) identifies the risk assessment prepared for the facility and states where the risk assessment is available for inspection by the Chief Officer; and

(c) identifies the safety management system prepared for the facility and states where the safety management system is available for inspection by the Chief Officer; and

(d) is in a form acceptable to the Chief Officer.

(3) A safety report is prescribed to be a safety management document for the purposes of the definition of safety management document in the Act section 3(1).

26. Safety report, application for approval of

(1) An application for approval of a safety report for a facility must —

(a) be made to the Chief Officer in an approved form; and

(b) if it is the first application for approval of a safety report for the facility — be accompanied by the relevant fee specified in Schedule 3 clause 1.

[(2) deleted]

[Regulation 26 amended: Gazette 16 Mar 2012 p. 1270.]

27. Safety report, approval of by Chief Officer

(1) The Chief Officer may approve a safety report for a major hazard facility if satisfied that —

(a) the safety report complies with regulation 25(2); and

(b) the risk assessment and the safety management system identified in the safety report demonstrate that the operator of the facility will take all reasonably practicable measures to minimise the risk to people, property or the environment from dangerous goods at the facility.

(2) The matters to be considered by the Chief Officer when determining whether a measure to minimise the risk to people, property or the environment from dangerous goods is reasonably practicable include —

(a) the severity of the risk to people, property or the environment from the dangerous goods; and

(b) the severity of any harm that might be caused by the dangerous goods to people, property or the environment; and

(d) public knowledge about means to reduce or eliminate the risk referred to in paragraph (a) or to reduce the severity referred to in paragraph (b); and

(e) the availability, suitability and cost of those means.

28. Withdrawal of approval of safety report

(1) The Chief Officer may withdraw approval of a safety report if the Chief Officer ceases to be satisfied as required under regulation 27(1).

(2) The Chief Officer cannot withdraw approval of a safety report if —

(a) the operator of the major hazard facility to which the safety report relates has amended the safety report, the risk assessment or the safety management system, as the case requires, under regulation 30(3) and applied under regulation 26(1) for approval of the amended safety report; and

(b) the Chief Officer has not given the operator notice under regulation 29(2) that the Chief Officer refuses to approve the amended safety report.

29. Chief Officer to consult etc. before refusing to approve or withdrawing approval of safety report

(1) Before the Chief Officer —

(a) refuses to approve; or

(b) withdraws approval of,

a safety report, the Chief Officer must —

(i) the Chief Officer’s intention to make the decision referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); and

(ii) the reasons for the intended decision;

and

(d) invite the operator to make submissions to the Chief Officer in relation to the intended decision before a date specified in the notice; and

(e) consider any submissions made by the operator.

(2) If the Chief Officer —

(a) refuses to approve; or

(b) withdraws approval of,

a safety report, the Chief Officer must give the operator of the major hazard facility to which the safety report relates written notice of that decision, the reasons for the decision and the right to have the decision reviewed under the Act section 67.

30. Safety report, review of by operator of major hazard facility

(1) An operator of a major hazard facility must review the safety report for the facility (including the risk assessment and the safety management system identified in the safety report) —

(a) before implementing a significant change to —

(i) any plant, process or substance used at the facility including the introduction of any new plant, process or substance; or

(ii) the layout of the facility or where dangerous goods are to be stored, handled or transported within the facility;

(b) as soon as practicable after a dangerous goods incident or major incident occurs at the facility; or

(c) as soon as practicable after becoming aware of a change in land use or zoning for the area surrounding the facility; or

(d) as soon as practicable after receiving information provided under a direction given under regulation 31(1); or

(e) as soon as practicable after the expiry of —

(i) 5 years since the last review under this regulation; or

(ii) if a review has not been conducted, 5 years since the safety report for the facility was first approved under regulation 27(1);

(f) as soon as practicable after a request by the Chief Officer.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

(2) An operator of a major hazard facility may, on the operator’s own initiative, review the safety report, the risk assessment or the safety management system for the facility.

(3) If a review indicates one or more of the following —

(a) that the safety report no longer complies with regulation 25(2);

(b) that the risk assessment no longer complies with regulation 23(2);

the operator must immediately —

(d) amend the safety report, the risk assessment or the safety management system, as the case requires, so that it does comply with the relevant regulation; and

(e) apply to the Chief Officer under regulation 26 for approval of the amended safety report.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

(4) If a review required under subregulation (1) indicates that each of the safety report, the risk assessment and the safety management system complies with the relevant regulation without amendment, the operator must give the Chief Officer written notice that the operator has reviewed the safety report for the facility (including the risk assessment and the safety management system identified in the safety report) and no amendment to it is required.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $2 000;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $10 000.

Part 6 — Miscellaneous

31. Major hazard facilities near to one another, Chief Officer may direct one to give information to the other

(1) If the Chief Officer considers that the proximity of 2 major hazard facilities to one another is such that an incident at one could cause a major incident at the other, the Chief Officer may, in writing, direct the operator of either facility to give the operator of the other facility the information specified in the direction, within the period specified in that direction or any longer period permitted by the Chief Officer.

(2) An operator must comply with a direction given under subregulation (1).

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $10 000 or imprisonment for 10 months or both;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $50 000.

32. Closure of major hazard facility, operator to notify Chief Officer of

If a decision is made to permanently close down a major hazard facility, the operator of the facility must give the Chief Officer written notice of the intended closure.

Penalty:

(a) for an individual, a fine of $2 000;

(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $10 000.

33. Classes of major hazard facility for purposes of fees

(1) For the purposes of Schedule 3, major hazard facilities are to be classified under this regulation.

(2) A Class A facility is any major hazard facility at which Schedule 1 substances are used in, or produced by means of, an industrial production process that the Chief Officer determines is a process of high complexity.

(3) A Class B facility is any major hazard facility at which Schedule 1 substances are used in, or produced by means of, an industrial production process that the Chief Officer determines is a process of medium complexity.

(4) A Class C facility is —

(a) any major hazard facility at which Schedule 1 substances are used in, or produced by means of, an industrial production process that the Chief Officer determines is a process of low complexity; or

(b) any major hazard facility at which Schedule 1 substances —

(i) are stored but not used in, or produced by means of, an industrial production process; and

(ii) in the view of the Chief Officer, are frequently handled.

(5) A Class D facility is any major hazard facility at which Schedule 1 substances —

(a) are stored but not used in, or produced by means of, an industrial production process; and

(b) in the view of the Chief Officer, are infrequently handled.

[Regulation 33 inserted: Gazette 16 Mar 2012 p. 1270‑1.]

34. Annual fee for major hazard facilities

(1) In this regulation —

grace period means, as the case requires —

(a) the one month period referred to in subregulation (4); or

(b) the 3 month period referred to in subregulation (6);

site licence means —

(a) an explosives manufacture licence, or an explosives storage licence, granted under the Dangerous Goods Safety (Explosives) Regulations 2007 in respect of a dangerous goods site; or

(b) an SSAN manufacture licence, or an SSAN storage licence, granted under the Dangerous Goods Safety (Security Sensitive Ammonium Nitrate) Regulations 2007 in respect of a dangerous goods site; or

(c) a licence granted under the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non‑explosives) Regulations 2007 Part 4 in respect of a dangerous goods site.

(2) The holder of a site licence granted in respect of a dangerous goods site that is a major hazard facility must pay for each year the relevant annual fee specified in Schedule 3 clause 2.

(3) An annual fee payable under subregulation (2) must be paid annually.

(4) The first annual payment must be made before, on or within one month after the date on which a safety report for the site is approved under Part 5.

(5) If the date referred to in subregulation (4) (date A) is not the date, or an anniversary of the date, on which the site licence is granted (date B), then, despite subregulation (2), the Chief Officer may reduce the first annual payment to an amount that is in proportion to the period that begins on date A and ends on date B.

(6) Each subsequent annual payment must be made before, on or within 3 months after —

(a) if under the Dangerous Goods Safety (General) Regulations 2007 regulation 15 the Chief Officer has set a due date for the site licence — the due date in each year;

(b) in any other case — the anniversary of the date on which the first annual payment has to be made under subregulation (4).

(7) If under subregulation (4) or (6) a fee (including a fee reduced under subregulation (5)) is paid in the grace period, the holder must pay, with the fee, a late payment fee of $41.00.

[Regulation 34 inserted: Gazette 16 Mar 2012 p. 1271‑3; amended: Gazette 11 Jan 2013 p. 55-6; 26 Jun 2015 p. 2266; 5 Feb 2016 p. 360; 24 Jun 2016 p. 2327; 23 Jun 2017 p. 3287; 25 Jun 2018 p. 2301; 18 Jun 2018 p. 2042.]

Schedule 1 — Threshold quantity for Schedule 1 substances

[r. 4 and 10]

Threshold quantity for substances

In this clause —

UN number for a substance means the UN number assigned to the substance in the Dangerous Goods List column 1.

Table 1

Substance	UN number	Threshold quantity (in tonnes)
ACETONE CYANOHYDRIN	1541	20
ACETYLENE	1001	50
ACROLEIN	1092	200
ACRYLONITRILE	1093	200
ALLYL ALCOHOL	1098	20
ALLYLAMINE	2334	200
AMMONIA, ANHYDROUS	1005	200
AMMONIUM NITRATE FERTILIZERS	2067	5 000
AMMONIUM NITRATE, with not more than 0.2% combustible substances, including any organic substance calculated as carbon, to the exclusion of any other added substance	1942	2 500
ARSENIC PENTOXIDE, Arsenic (V) acid and other salts	1559	10
ARSENIC TRIOXIDE, Arsenious (III) acid and other salts	1561	0.10
ARSINE	2188	0.01
BROMINE or BROMINE SOLUTIONS	1744	100
CARBON DISULFIDE	1131	200
CHLORINE	1017	25
DIOXINS	‑‑‑	0.10
ETHYL NITRATE	‑‑‑	50
ETHYLENE DIBROMIDE	1605	50
ETHYLENE OXIDE	1040	50
ETYLENEIMINE	1185	50
FLUORINE	1045	25
FORMALDEHYDE	1198 or 2209	50
HYDROFLUORIC ACID SOLUTION, greater than 50%	1790	50
HYDROGEN	1049	50
HYDROGEN CHLORIDE, anhydrous	1050	250
HYDROGEN CHLORIDE, refrigerated liquid	2186	250
HYDROGEN CYANIDE	1051 or 1614	20
HYDROGEN FLUORIDE	1052	50
HYDROGEN SULFIDE	1053	50
LP GASES	1011, 1012, 1075, 1978 or 1077	200
METHYL BROMIDE	1062	200
METHANE or NATURAL GAS	1971 or 1972	200
METHYL ISOCYANATE	2480	0.15
OXIDES OF NITROGEN, including nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen trioxide	1067, 1070, 1660, 1975, 2201 or 2421	50
OXYGEN	1072 or 1073	2 000
PHOSGENE	1076	0.75
PROPYLENEIMINE	1921	200
PROPYLENE OXIDE	1280	50
SODIUM CHLORATE, solid	1495	200
SULFURIC ANHYDRIDE (or SULFUR TRIOXIDE)	1829	75
SULFUR DICHLORIDE	1828	1
SULFUR DIOXIDE, liquefied	1079	200
TITANIUM TETRACHLORIDE	1838	500
TOLUENE DIISOCYANATE	2078	200

[Clause 1 amended: Gazette 22 Jun 2010 p. 2783.]

Threshold quantity for categories of substances

In this clause —

class for a substance means —

(a) the class assigned to the substance in the Dangerous Goods List column 3; or

(b) if the class is not assigned as described in paragraph (a), the class determined using the relevant procedure referred to in the ADG Code;

classification code for a substance means —

(a) the classification code assigned to the substance in the AE Code Appendix 2 column 4; or

(b) if the classification code is not assigned as described in paragraph (a), the classification code determined using the relevant procedure referred to in the AE Code;

division for a substance means —

(a) the division assigned to the substance in the Dangerous Goods List column 3 or the AE Code Appendix 2 column 4, whichever applies; or

(b) if the division is not assigned as described in paragraph (a), the division determined using the relevant procedure referred to in the ADG Code or the AE Code, whichever applies;

goods too dangerous to transport means —

(a) dangerous good listed in the ADG Code Appendix A; or

(b) other dangerous goods prescribed under the Dangerous Goods Safety (General) Regulations 2007 to be goods too dangerous to transport;

hazchem code for a substance means —

(a) the hazchem code assigned to the substance in the ADG Code Appendix C C3 List of Emergency Action Codes; or

(b) if the hazchem code is not assigned as described in paragraph (a), the hazchem code determined using the relevant procedure referred to in the ADG Code;

packing group for a substance means —

(a) the packing group assigned to the substance in the Dangerous Goods List column 5; or

(b) if the packing group is not assigned as described in paragraph (a), the packing group determined using the relevant procedure referred to in the ADG Code;

subsidiary hazard for a substance means —

(a) the subsidiary hazard assigned to the substance in the Dangerous Goods List column 4; or

(b) if the subsidiary hazard is not assigned as described in paragraph (a), the subsidiary hazard determined using the relevant procedure referred to in the ADG Code.

Table 2

Category of substances		Threshold quantity (in tonnes)
Explosives —	of classification code 1.1A	10 (excluding packaging, casings and non‑explosive components)
	of division 1.1 (other than explosives of classification code 1.1A)	50 (excluding packaging, casings and non‑explosive components)
	of division 1.2	200 (excluding packaging, casings and non‑explosive components)
	of division 1.3	200 (excluding packaging, casings and non‑explosive components)
Compressed or liquefied gases —	of division 2.1 or subsidiary hazard 2.1	200
	of division 2.3	20
	of subsidiary hazard 5.1	200
Flammable materials —	liquids of class 3 packing group I, except for crude oil in locations considered by the Chief Officer to be remote	200
	crude oil in locations considered by the Chief Officer to be remote and of class 3 packing group I	2 000
	liquids of class 3 packing group II or III	50 000
	liquids with flashpoints <60°C if present at a temperature that is above the ambient temperature and above their boiling points in ambient conditions	200
	combustible solids of division 4.1 packing group I	200
	spontaneously combustible materials of division 4.2 packing group I or II	200
	materials that liberate flammable gases or react violently on contact with water and of division 4.3 packing group I or II	200
	materials of class 3 or 8 packing group I or II that have hazchem codes of 4WE (that is, materials that react violently with water)	500
Oxidising materials of division 5.1 packing group I or II		200
Peroxides, organic, of division 5.2		200
Toxic solids or liquids —	of division 6.1 packing group I	20
	of division 6.1 packing group II	200
Goods too dangerous to transport		2

[Clause 2 amended: Gazette 22 Jun 2010 p. 2783; SL 2020/193 r. 8.]

Schedule 2 — Notifiable information

[r. 4]

Term used: material safety data sheet

In this Schedule —

material safety data sheet, for a substance, means a document in English that contains the information in relation to the substance that is required by the National Code of Practice for the Preparation of Material Safety Data Sheets [NOHSC: 2011(2003)], whether or not the document is in the form required by that code of practice.

Notifiable information

The following information is notifiable information —

(a) if the operator of the place is a corporation, the corporation’s full corporate name, trading name, Australian Company Number, registered address and place of business and the nature of the corporation’s business;

(b) if the operator of the place is an individual, the person’s full name, residential address and business address, any business name used by the person and the nature of the person’s business;

(d) land use and zoning for the area surrounding the place;

(e) for each kind of dangerous goods at the place, its name, a copy of its material safety data sheet and the quantity at the place;

(f) the nature of the business or other activity conducted at the place, including the nature of the presence of dangerous goods in the course of conducting the business or activity;

(g) the number of employees at the place;

(h) plans showing the layout of the place and where dangerous goods are to be stored, handled or transported within that place.

Schedule 3 — Fees

[r. 26, 33 and 34]

[Heading inserted: SL 2023/36 r. 6.]

Fees for approval of safety reports (r. 26)

The relevant fee to be paid under regulation 26 for an application for approval of a safety report for a major hazard facility is the fee in the Table relevant to the class of the facility.

Table

Class of facility under r. 33	Fee ($)
Class A	129 000
Class B	103 000
Class C	77 900
Class D	20 000

[Clause 1 inserted: SL 2023/36 r. 6; amended: SL 2025/90 r. 6(1).]

Annual fees for major hazard facilities (r. 34)

The relevant annual fee to be paid under regulation 34 in respect of a major hazard facility is the fee in the Table relevant to the class of the facility.

Table

Class of facility under r. 33	Fee ($)
Class A	129 000
Class B	103 000
Class C	77 900
Class D	20 000

[Clause 2 inserted: SL 2023/36 r. 6; amended: SL 2025/90 r. 6(2).]

Schedule 4 — Procedures to be included in safety management system

[r. 24]

Skills etc. of employees, procedures to ensure

The procedures for ensuring that each employee who fills an employee position to which a task is allocated under the safety management system has the necessary skills and knowledge to undertake all tasks for which he or she has responsibility under the safety management system.

Operation etc. of plant etc., procedures for

(1) The procedures for —

(a) ensuring the safe operation of plant; and

(b) ensuring that plant is properly maintained; and

(2) The procedures for isolating the whole or part of the facility if an emergency occurs.

(3) The procedures for managing alarm systems.

Security, procedures to ensure

The procedures for preventing unauthorised acts that could cause a major incident and for preventing acts intended to cause a major incident.

Safety information, procedures to ensure employees are given

(1) The procedures for informing employees about —

(a) the risk assessment; and

(b) the safety management system.

(2) The procedures for informing persons who are not employees, but who are present at the facility, of the safety measures they are required to take while at the facility.

(3) The procedures for ensuring the community, local governments for the districts in which the community resides and emergency services are informed about —

(a) the use of dangerous goods at the facility; and

(b) the risk assessment; and

(4) In subclause (3) —

community, in relation to a major hazard facility, means all people living or working outside the facility who would be likely to suffer personal injury or property damage if a major incident occurred at the facility;

emergency services means the Police Force and the FES Commissioner, as defined in the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998 section 3.

[Clause 4 amended: Gazette 19 Feb 2013 p. 988.]

Risk control measures, procedures to ensure monitoring of etc.

(1) In this clause —

risk control measures has the meaning given in regulation 23(2)(c).

(2) Procedures for monitoring the effectiveness of risk control measures.

(3) Procedures for monitoring the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the safety management system.

(4) Procedures for using the information obtained from monitoring to improve safety at the facility.

dline

Notes

This is a compilation of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007 and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table.

Compilation table

Citation	Published	Commencement
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007	31 Dec 2007 p. 7057-100	r. 1 and 2: 31 Dec 2007 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Mar 2008 (see r. 2(b) and Gazette 29 Feb 2008 p. 669)
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2009	16 Jun 2009 p. 2194‑5	r. 1 and 2: 16 Jun 2009 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2009 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations 2010	22 Jun 2010 p. 2782-3	r. 1 and 2: 22 Jun 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 23 Jun 2010 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2010	25 Jun 2010 p. 2874‑5	r. 1 and 2: 25 Jun 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2010 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations 2012	16 Mar 2012 p. 1270‑3	r. 1 and 2: 16 Mar 2012 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Apr 2012 (see r. 2(b))
*Reprint 1: The Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007* as at 19 Oct 2012** (includes amendments listed above)
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations (No. 3) 2012	11 Jan 2013 p. 55‑6	r. 1 and 2: 11 Jan 2013 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Apr 2013 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2012	19 Feb 2013 p. 987-8	r. 1 and 2: 19 Feb 2013 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 20 Feb 2013 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations 2013	28 Jun 2013 p. 2825-6	r. 1 and 2: 28 Jun 2013 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2013 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations 2014	17 Jun 2014 p. 1989‑90	r. 1 and 2: 17 Jun 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2014 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Amendment Regulations 2015	26 Jun 2015 p. 2265‑6	r. 1 and 2: 26 Jun 2015 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2015 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety Regulations Amendment Regulations 2016 Pt. 4	5 Feb 2016 p. 343‑68	6 Feb 2016 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Levies) Regulations 2016 Pt. 3	24 Jun 2016 p. 2325-34	1 Jul 2016 (see r. 2(b))
*Reprint 2: The Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007* as at 3 Mar 2017** (includes amendments listed above)
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2017 Pt. 3	23 Jun 2017 p. 3279‑309	1 Jul 2017 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2018 Pt. 3	25 Jun 2018 p. 2297‑324	1 Jul 2018 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2019 Pt. 3	18 Jun 2019 p. 2040‑56	1 Jul 2019 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2020 Pt. 2	SL 2020/93 26 Jun 2020	1 Jul 2020 (see r. 2(b))
Dangerous Goods Safety Regulations Amendment Regulations 2020 Pt. 3	SL 2020/193 9 Oct 2020	10 Oct 2020 (see r. 2(c))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2021 Pt. 3	SL 2021/85 21 Jun 2021	1 Jul 2021 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2022 Pt. 3	SL 2022/58 20 May 2022	1 Jul 2022 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2023 Pt. 3	SL 2023/36 5 May 2023	1 Jul 2023 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2025 Pt. 3	SL 2025/90 11 Jun 2024	1 Jul 2025 (see r. 2(b))

Other notes

1 Repealed by the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 s. 70.

Defined terms

[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]

Defined term Provision(s)

ADG Code 4

AE Code 4

approved safety report 4

class Sch. 1 cl. 2

classification code Sch. 1 cl. 2

commencement day 4

community Sch. 4 cl. 4(4)

compliance day 4

critical quantity 4

Dangerous Goods List 4

date A 34(5)

date B 34(5)

division Sch. 1 cl. 2

emergency services Sch. 4 cl. 4(4)

employee 4

existing facility 4

goods too dangerous to transport Sch. 1 cl. 2

grace period 34(1)

harm 4

hazard 4

hazchem code Sch. 1 cl. 2

major hazard facility 4

major incident 4

material safety data sheet Sch. 2 cl. 1

modified place 4

notifiable change 4, 15(1)

notifiable information 4

operator 4

packing group Sch. 1 cl. 2

place 4

relevant date 17(1)

relevant time 4

risk assessment 4

risk control measures 23(2), Sch. 4 cl. 5(1)

safety management system 4

safety report 4

Schedule 1 substance 4

site licence 34(1)

subsidiary hazard Sch. 1 cl. 2

Table 1 10(1)

Table 2 10(1)

threshold quantity 9(1)

UN number Sch. 1 cl. 1

zoning 4

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.

By Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer

Western Australia

Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004

Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007

Western Australia

Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

Citation 1
Commencement 1
Application of regulations 1
Terms used 2
Major hazard facility, meaning of 6
Place, meaning of 6
When Sch. 1 substances are likely to be at a place 7
Quantity of substances at or likely to be at a place, determining 8
Critical quantity of Sch. 1 substances at or likely to be at a place, determining 9
Threshold quantity for a Sch. 1 substance, determining 10

Part 2 — Main offences

Sch. 1 substances at a place not to exceed critical quantity without prior notification to Chief Officer 11
No significant change to certain places without prior notification to Chief Officer 11
Major hazard facility to operate in accordance with safety management system in approved safety report 12

Part 3 — Notification requirements

Operator to notify Chief Officer if more than critical quantity of Sch. 1 substances likely to be at place 13
Operator of certain places to notify Chief Officer of certain changes 13
Chief Officer may direct operator to give notification in some cases 14
Notification required under r. 14, 15 and 16, form and content of 15
Chief Officer may direct operator to give further information 16

Part 4 — Certain places to be major hazard facilities

Classifying places as major hazard facilities, Chief Officer’s functions as to 17
Chief Officer to consult before classifying place as major hazard facility 18
Chief Officer to notify decision whether or not to classify a place as a major hazard facility 18

The regulations are driven by a handful of technical concepts that determine coverage, duties and the degree of regulatory discretion. They are defined within the instrument and referenced throughout.

Schedule 1 substance and threshold quantity. A Schedule 1 substance is any substance listed in Schedule 1 Table 1 or any substance belonging to a category in Table 2 (r.4 definition; Sch.1). Table 1 gives substance-specific threshold quantities in tonnes (for example acetone cyanohydrin 20 t, ammonia anhydrous 200 t, methyl isocyanate 0.15 t). Table 2 provides category thresholds for classes and divisions used in the ADG/AE Codes (for example certain explosives, compressed gases, flammables) with specific tonne thresholds. The regulation provides a hierarchy in determining the threshold quantity: if a substance appears in Table 1 that number controls (r.10(2)); otherwise identify the category in Table 2 (r.10(3)).

Quantity at a place and mixtures. The quantity to be used in coverage decisions is a sum of maximum quantities in process vessels, interconnecting piping, storage tanks, pipelines and any additional quantity that could escape from a connected pipeline (r.8(1)). For mixtures the regulations supply a formula to convert the mixture quantity and percentage to the quantity of the substance (r.8(2)).

Critical quantity and aggregation. The critical quantity is the amount of Schedule 1 substances that triggers the regime (r.9). For single substances the trigger is more than 10 per cent of the threshold quantity (r.9(2)(a)). For multiple substances the regulations use a fractional aggregation formula that sums ratios of actual quantity to threshold quantity and compares the result to 0.1 (r.9(2)(b)); substances present in quantities less than 2 per cent of their threshold quantity are excluded from the calculation.

Place, operator and compliance day. A place is an area of land, water or both under the control of one person, with express rules for grouping nearby areas controlled by one person (r.6). The operator is the person who controls or manages the place (r.4 definition). The compliance day is defined relative to whether the place is an existing facility, a modified place, or when the critical quantity is first exceeded; it sets the date by which safety reports must be approved and compliance with an approved safety management system is required (r.4 definitions; r.21(2)).

Risk assessment, safety management system and safety report. The operator of a major hazard facility must prepare a risk assessment identifying hazards, the probability and nature of harm, risk control measures and the method of reasoning used (r.23(2)). The safety management system records policies and procedures to implement and manage those risk control measures, including the specified procedures in Schedule 4 (r.24(2)). The safety report contains notifiable information, identifies where the risk assessment and safety management system may be inspected and must be in a form acceptable to the Chief Officer (r.25(2)).

Chief Officer powers and discretion. The Chief Officer decides classification as a major hazard facility (r.19), must consult before classifying (r.20), may direct notifications and further information (r.16, r.18), may approve or withdraw approval of safety reports (r.27-28), may direct operators of proximate facilities to exchange information (r.31), and determines threshold membership questions and their decisions are final (r.10(5) and (6)). These provisions create significant administrative discretion at the Chief Officer’s office.

Fees and enforcement. The regulations prescribe fees for safety report approval and annual fees by facility class (Sch.3), and set criminal penalties and fines for breaches of notifications, operating outside approved systems and failing to review or amend reports in required circumstances (r.11-13, r.14-15, r.30). For each individual offence the penalty often includes a fine of $10,000 or 10 months imprisonment or both; for bodies corporate the statutory fines are expressed (commonly $50,000), and lower fines apply for some administrative notifications (r.32; r.30(4)).

Interaction with other instruments and codes. The regulations expressly incorporate the ADG Code and AE Code definitions (r.4) and exclude places where other licensing regimes under the Explosives Regulations 2007 or the Storage and Handling of Non‑explosives Regulations 2007 apply as set out in r.3(2). This frames the regulatory perimeter and links classification and threshold questions to those transport and explosives classification systems.

Taken together these concepts determine whether a site is captured, what documentary evidence and approvals are required, the timing for compliance, and the tools available to the regulator to approve, refuse or withdraw approvals.

The regulations affect a defined set of actors in predictable ways by allocating obligations, rights to make submissions, and liabilities. The core affected parties are operators of places, the Chief Officer, employees at captured places, neighbouring communities and emergency services, and licence holders under overlapping regimes.

Operators. The primary regulatory target is the operator of a place, defined as the person who has control or management of the place (r.4). Operators must calculate quantities (r.8-10), give notifications if thresholds are likely to be exceeded (r.14-17), prepare and keep up-to-date risk assessments, safety management systems and safety reports (r.23-25), apply for approval of safety reports with payment of the fee (r.26), and once classified operate in accordance with the approved safety management system from the compliance day (r.11, r.13, r.21). Operators of modified places have immediate triggers: if they decide to implement a significant change likely to cause the critical quantity to be exceeded they must notify the Chief Officer before the change occurs (r.15(3)). The operator is also required to consult with employees when preparing the risk assessment and safety management system and record the consultation (r.23(2)(e), r.24(2)(b)).

Employees and representatives. Employees at a place must be consulted during preparation of the risk assessment and safety management system; the operator must record consultation details (r.23(2)(e), r.24(2)(b)). Schedule 4 requires procedures to ensure employees have required skills and are given safety information about the risk assessment and safety management system (Sch.4 cl.1, cl.4). These provisions affect training, information flows and internal compliance functions.

Community, local government and emergency services. Schedule 4 cl.4(3) requires procedures for informing the community, local governments for the district and emergency services about the use of dangerous goods at the facility, the risk assessment and protective actions members of the community should take. The community is defined to include all people living or working outside the facility likely to suffer injury or property damage if a major incident occurred. Emergency services are defined to include the Police Force and the FES Commissioner (Sch.4 cl.4(4)). Thus community notification and emergency services engagement are mandatory components of safety management systems.

Licence holders under other Dangerous Goods regimes. Regulation 3 excludes places where the type and quantity of Schedule 1 substances and other dangerous goods mean a place is not required to be licensed under the Explosives Regulations 2007 or the Storage and Handling of Non‑explosives Regulations 2007 (r.3(2)(a)), and excludes places where only explosives are present in circumstances where only an explosives storage licence is required (r.3(2)(b)). Conversely, holders of site licences under those regimes who operate a major hazard facility must pay annual fees under r.34 and be subject to compliance obligations (r.34(2)). The regulations link into the site licence regime via r.34 site licence definition.

Chief Officer and regulator. The Chief Officer of the relevant safety authority is the decisionmaker and enforcer. The Chief Officer decides classification (r.19), must consult prior to classification (r.20), gives written notices of decisions including the date by which an approved safety report must be in place (r.21), can revoke classification (r.22), can direct operators to provide information, and can refuse or withdraw safety report approval subject to consultation and review rights (r.16, r.18, r.27-29). The Chief Officer also determines technical questions about classification codes and thresholds where there is uncertainty, and those decisions are final (r.10(5)-(6)).

Third parties and neighbouring facilities. The Chief Officer may direct operators of proximate major hazard facilities to exchange specified information where proximity gives rise to the risk that an incident at one could cause a major incident at the other (r.31). That direction affects inter-facility planning and operational coordination and may require disclosure between commercial operators.

Designers, contractors, consultants and auditors. Preparations of risk assessments, safety management systems and safety reports will implicate external consultants and auditors in practice. The regulations require that documents be in a form acceptable to the Chief Officer (r.23(2)(f), r.24(2)(c), r.25(2)(d)), which creates a practical need to align professional inputs to regulatory expectations.

Consumers, landowners and local government. Indirectly affected groups include owners and users of nearby land, local planning authorities (zoning is a notifiable item , Sch.2 cl.2(d)) and other stakeholders who must be informed under Sch.4. Changes to land use or zoning around a facility trigger review obligations for the operator (r.30(1)(c)).

In short, the regime imposes primary duties on operators, engages employees and their representatives in consultation and training obligations, grants decision and enforcement powers to the Chief Officer, creates informational duties to the community and emergency services, and piggybacks on other dangerous goods licensing regimes for exclusions and fee collection.

The regulations impose an interlocking set of duties on operators and corresponding regulatory rights for the Chief Officer. Below are the central duties, their triggers and the rights of operators to procedural fairness.

Duties to notify. Operators must notify the Chief Officer in writing as soon as practicable where the operator becomes aware more than the critical quantity is likely to be at the place and no classification decision has been given (r.14). Operators of places where the critical quantity is present or likely to be present but who have been given a decision not to classify must notify the Chief Officer in writing of intended notifiable changes likely to result in continued or new exceedance (r.15(2)-(3)). If the operator becomes aware of changes to notifiable information previously provided, the operator must inform the Chief Officer as soon as practicable (r.15(4)). The notification must be in writing, state the relevant date and include notifiable information as it exists or will exist on the relevant date (r.17).

Pre-change and pre‑exceedance constraints. The operator must ensure no more than the critical quantity is present at the place until either the Chief Officer has decided not to classify the place or, if classified, until there is an approved safety report for the place (r.11(1)). Similarly, an operator required to notify of a notifiable change must ensure the change does not occur until a notice of not-to-classify or an approved safety report exists for the place (r.12). These duties create hard timing constraints that tie operational changes and throughput to the regulatory approval process.

Preparations and approvals. Operators of a major hazard facility must prepare a risk assessment (r.23), a safety management system (r.24) and a safety report (r.25). The safety report must contain notifiable information and identify where the RA and SMS may be inspected (r.25(2)). Application for approval must be made in an approved form and, for the first application, accompanied by the relevant fee in Sch.3 (r.26). The Chief Officer may approve a safety report if satisfied it complies with r.25(2) and that the RA and SMS demonstrate the operator will take all reasonably practicable measures to minimise risk (r.27(1)). The regulation lists matters to be considered when assessing reasonable practicability, including severity of risk and availability and cost of measures (r.27(2)).

Operation in accordance with approved SMS. From the compliance day the operator must not store, handle or transport dangerous goods except in accordance with the safety management system identified in the approved safety report for the facility (r.13). That duty transforms the safety management system from a documentary exercise into an enforceable operational standard.

Review, amendment and record keeping. Operators must review safety reports and associated RA and SMS in specified circumstances including before a significant change, after a dangerous goods incident, after a change in surrounding land use or zoning, after a direction under r.31, every 5 years, or as requested by the Chief Officer (r.30(1)). If a review indicates non-compliance with the respective requirements, the operator must immediately amend the relevant documents and apply for approval of the amended safety report (r.30(3)). If a review indicates no amendment is required the operator must notify the Chief Officer in writing (r.30(4)).

Employee consultation and training. Risk assessments and safety management systems must be prepared in consultation with employees and the consultation recorded (r.23(2)(e), r.24(2)(b)). Schedule 4 requires procedures to ensure employees have the necessary skills, are informed of the RA and SMS and are given safety information (Sch.4 cl.1, cl.4).

Fees and payment duties. An applicant for approval must pay the fee in Sch.3 on the first application (r.26(1)(b)). Site licence holders whose sites are major hazard facilities must pay annual fees as set out in Sch.3 and r.34; the first annual payment is due in relation to the date the safety report is approved, with defined grace periods and a late payment fee of $41 (r.34(4)-(7)).

Chief Officer’s procedural duties and operator rights. Before classifying a place the Chief Officer must give written notice of intention and reasons and invite submissions from the operator (r.20), and must give the operator written notice of the final decision (r.21(1)). Before refusing to approve or withdrawing approval of a safety report the Chief Officer must give notice, reasons, invite submissions and consider them (r.29(1)). If the Chief Officer refuses or withdraws approval the operator must be given written notice of the decision, the reasons and the right to have the decision reviewed under s.67 of the Act (r.29(2)). Thus operators have statutory rights to pre-decision consultation and to administrative review under the Act.

Powers to direct and compel. The Chief Officer may direct an operator to give notification if reasonable grounds exist that the critical quantity is exceeded and a major incident could occur (r.16). The Chief Officer may direct an operator who has notified to provide additional information (r.18). The Chief Officer may direct proximate facilities to exchange specified information (r.31). Operators must comply with such written directions, failure to do so attracts the usual penalty structure (r.16(2), r.18(2), r.31(2)).

Penalties and enforcement rights. The regulations impose fines and custodial penalties for breaches (r.11-15, r.30). The Chief Officer has the power to approve, refuse, withdraw approval and revoke classification and to make directions; these are the primary regulatory instruments for enforcement (r.21, r.27-29, r.22).

In sum, duties are documentary (prepare RA, SMS, safety report), procedural (notify, consult, pay fees), operational (comply with approved SMS), and responsive (review and amend). Rights function as procedural checks on Chief Officer decisions (notice, submissions, review under the Act).

The regulations set a penal architecture that combines monetary penalties, imprisonment for individuals, and administrative controls exercised by the Chief Officer. Enforcement is structured through criminal offences in the regulations alongside the Chief Officer’s approval, classification and direction powers.

Monetary and custodial penalties. Many contraventions carry penalties for individuals and bodies corporate. Typical offences include failing to ensure more than the critical quantity is not present without prior action (r.11), failing to prevent a notifiable change before appropriate notice or approval (r.12), operating a major hazard facility otherwise than in accordance with an approved safety management system on and after the compliance day (r.13), failing to notify under r.14, failing to give written notice under r.15 or failing to update notifiable information (r.15(4)), failing to comply with a Chief Officer direction to notify (r.16), and failing to comply with a direction to provide further information (r.18). The standard penalties set for many of these offences are:

For an individual: a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for 10 months, or both.
For a body corporate: a fine of $50,000.

For some lower-level administrative notifications the fines are smaller: for example, failing to give the Chief Officer written notice after review indicates no amendment is required (r.30(4)) carries a fine for an individual of $2,000 and for a body corporate of $10,000. Closure notification under r.32 likewise attracts lower fines (individual $2,000; corporate $10,000).

Administrative enforcement powers. The Chief Officer’s core enforcement tools are administrative rather than penal. These include:

Classification and revocation: the Chief Officer decides whether to classify places as major hazard facilities (r.19), must give notice and reasons and invite submissions before classification (r.20), and may revoke classification where no longer satisfied the classification test (r.22).
Approval and withdrawal of safety reports: the Chief Officer may approve a safety report only if satisfied it complies with r.25(2) and demonstrates the operator will take all reasonably practicable measures (r.27). The Chief Officer may withdraw approval where no longer satisfied (r.28), but must follow consultation rules and give written reasons and advice about review rights under the Act (r.29).
Directions and information demands: the Chief Officer can direct operators to notify (r.16), to provide further information (r.18), and order information exchange between proximate facilities where an incident at one could cause a major incident at the other (r.31). Non-compliance with those directions is an offence carrying the penalties above (r.16(2), r.18(2), r.31(2)).

Procedural protections and review. Before refusing or withdrawing approval of a safety report, or before making classification decisions, the Chief Officer must give written notice of intention, reasons and an opportunity for submissions (r.20, r.29(1)). If the Chief Officer refuses or withdraws approval the operator must be given written notice of the decision, reasons and the right to have the decision reviewed under s.67 of the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 (r.29(2)). The regulations therefore embed an administrative consultation and review pathway.

Financial enforcement through fees. The regulations also create a financial compliance mechanism through application fees for safety report approval (Sch.3 cl.1) and annual fees tied to facility class (Sch.3 cl.2; r.34). Non‑payment within a defined grace period attracts a late payment fee of $41 (r.34(7)). The Chief Officer has discretion to reduce the first annual payment proportionally where approval and site licence anniversaries do not align (r.34(5)).

Operational enforcement. On and after the compliance day the operational duty to store, handle and transport dangerous goods only in accordance with the SMS in the approved safety report (r.13) creates an enforceable standard. The combination of documentary approval and an operational offence aligns administrative approval with on-the-ground conduct.

Finality of certain regulatory choices. Two provisions vest finality in the Chief Officer. First, questions of classification membership for categories (e.g. whether a substance belongs to a category listed in Table 2) are to be decided by the Chief Officer and that decision is final and conclusive (r.10(5)-(6)). Second, the Chief Officer’s decision whether or not to classify a place is a statutory action that is subject to procedural consultation but given practical effect by notice and compliance timelines (r.20-21).

Taken together, the enforcement regime is a mix of criminal penalties intended to deter non-compliance, administrative control through approvals, directions and revocation, and financial levers via fees. The regulations require pre-decisional consultation in several key contexts and provide for administrative review under the Act where approvals are refused or withdrawn.

The regulations cross-reference and operate within a framework of primary and subordinate instruments and external codes. They do not exist in isolation: they reference the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004, the ADG and AE Codes, other dangerous goods regulations, and planning instruments. The text explicitly sets boundary rules and incorporates external classification systems.

Interaction with the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004. The regulations operate under the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 and repeatedly reference the Act. Risk assessments, safety management systems and safety reports are prescribed to be safety management documents for the purpose of the Act section 3(1) (r.23(3), r.24(3), r.25(3)). Moreover, where the Chief Officer refuses or withdraws approval of a safety report the operator is entitled to have the decision reviewed under the Act s.67 (r.29(2)). The regulations therefore feed into the Act’s enforcement and review architecture.

Overlap and exclusions with other dangerous goods regimes. Regulation 3(2) contains express exclusions. The regulations do not apply to a place where the type and quantity of Schedule 1 substances and any other dangerous goods are such that the place is not required to be licensed under either the Dangerous Goods Safety (Explosives) Regulations 2007 or the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non‑explosives) Regulations 2007 (r.3(2)(a)). They also do not apply to places where only explosives are present and those explosives are present in circumstances requiring an explosive storage licence but no other licence under the Explosives Regulations 2007 (r.3(2)(b)). Conversely, where a dangerous goods site licence exists and the site is also a major hazard facility the site licence holder must pay annual fees under r.34, meaning the regimes can overlap and fee obligations can attach to licence holders under other instruments (r.34(1) definition of site licence; r.34(2)).

Incorporation of ADG and AE Codes. The regulations expressly adopt the Australian Dangerous Goods Code (ADG Code) and the Australian Explosives Code (AE Code) for classification and related technical determinations (r.4 definitions). Table 2 and r.10 cross‑reference classes, divisions, classification codes, packing groups, hazchem codes and subsidiary hazards as assigned in the Dangerous Goods List, the ADG Code and the AE Code, and provide that if the relevant assignment is not in those lists the relevant procedure in the ADG/AE Codes determines the classification (Sch.1 cl.2; r.10(5)). The Chief Officer is given the power to decide any question about which procedure is relevant and that decision is final (r.10(5)-(6)). This imports national transport classification systems into the thresholding exercise and centralises disputed technical classification to the Chief Officer.

Planning and zoning. The regulations require notification of land use and zoning for the area surrounding a place as part of the notifiable information (Sch.2 cl.2(d)). They also require operators to review the safety report if they become aware of a change in land use or zoning for the surrounding area (r.30(1)(c)). While the regulations do not prescribe planning outcomes, they create a regulatory link between planning changes and the operator’s risk documentation and obligations.

Other statutory regimes. Schedule 4 defines emergency services to include the Police Force and the FES Commissioner as defined in the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998 s.3 (Sch.4 cl.4(4)). Thus emergency services defined under other statutes are relevant recipients of facility information and consultees for emergency arrangements.

Administrative law rights. The regulations embed procedural rights that interact with administrative law under the Act: the Chief Officer must give notice of intended decisions and reasons and invite submissions before classification or refusal/withdrawal of approval (r.20, r.29(1)); a refusal or withdrawal must include written notice of the right to review under the Act s.67 (r.29(2)). Those provisions create a statutory pre-decision consultation pathway and a statutory right of review, which should interface with general administrative law remedies available under the Act.

Fees and financial legislation. The fees for safety report approval and annual fees for facilities are set out in Schedule 3; amendments to fees are reflected in the compilation table which records later instruments amending fees (Compilation Table; Sch.3). For holders of site licences under the Explosives or SSAN Regulations, the annual fees in r.34 may apply, tying financial obligations under different subordinate instruments.

In short, the regulations import classification and technical procedures from national codes, set boundaries with other WA dangerous goods regulations, require operators to respond to changes in planning instruments, and situate decision‑making and review rights within the administrative law framework of the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004.

The regulations have a documented amendment history, recorded in the compilation table and in footnotes to specific provisions. The compilation table lists the principal amendment instruments, dates of publication and commencement. Key amendments and timing are as follows.

Original instrument and commencement. The Dangerous Goods Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2007 were published 31 December 2007 (Gazette reference) with most regulations coming into force on 1 March 2008 (r.2(b) referenced in the compilation table).

Early amendments. Multiple amendment regulations adjusted definitions, thresholds and procedural provisions over the first years. Notable early amending instruments include the Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2009 (Gazette 16 June 2009) and the 2010 Amendment Regulations (Gazette 22 June 2010). Specific footnotes to r.4 and Sch.1 note amendments in 2010 (Gazette 22 Jun 2010 p.2783) that affected definitions and Schedule entries.

2012 package and subsequent fee and classification changes. A bundle of amendments in 2012 (Gazette 16 Mar 2012) inserted regulation 33 (classes of major hazard facility for fee purposes) and amended fee structures and other operational clauses; these amendments came into force 1 April 2012 (Compilation Table). Later in 2013 and following years, incremental amendments appeared: Amendment Regulations (No. 3) 2012 (Gazette 11 Jan 2013), further 2013, 2014 and 2015 amendments. The compilation table records successive reprints (Reprint 1 as at 19 Oct 2012; Reprint 2 as at 3 Mar 2017) and successive amendment instruments.

Recent fee schedule amendments and late adjustments. Schedule 3 was updated by SL 2023/36 (Gazette 5 May 2023) inserting a new fee table for approval and annual fees, and later amended by SL 2025/90 (Gazette 11 Jun 2024, commencement noted as 1 Jul 2025 in the table) which adjusted the fee entries (Sch.3 cl.1 and cl.2 note insertion and amendment dates). The compilation table documents numerous amendments to fees and charges via the Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations in multiple years (2016-2025). Those instruments altered the fee levels and related payment arrangements in r.34 and Sch.3, reflecting a pattern of periodic fee adjustment.

Editorial and technical amendments. Across the life of the regulations, technical amendments have been made to definitions (r.4), Schedule 1 entries, and procedural provisions. The footnotes in the text indicate that r.10 was amended by SL 2020/193 and other amendments were made in 2016, 2018 and later. Schedule 4 cl.4 was amended in 2013 to clarify community and emergency services definitions (Sch.4 cl.4 amended Gazette 19 Feb 2013 p.988).

Compilation table as authoritative chronology. The regulations include a compilation table that lists amendment instruments, their published dates and commencement dates through to instruments as late as SL 2025/90 with a commencement of 1 Jul 2025 for the later amendment. That table in the instrument is the authoritative chronology of subordinate amendments captured in the reprinted consolidated text.

Implication for practitioners. The amendment history shows several patterns relevant to practice: fee levels and classes have been updated by regulation in recent years (Sch.3); classification and procedural provisions have been refined (r.10 decisions finality, r.33 classes for fees inserted in 2012); and cross-references to other instruments have been adjusted over time. Users should rely on the compiled version and check the compilation table for the most recent amending instruments when advising clients on fee obligations, thresholds and timing requirements.

The Regulations as provided do not record any cases, reported decisions or a litigation narrative. The instrument itself contains no references to judicial decisions or interpretations. The only explicit remedial mechanism in the text is the right of an operator to have certain decisions reviewed under the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 s.67 (r.29(2) refers to that review right). Beyond that statutory review pathway, the regulations do not cite any litigation or appellate treatment.

What the regulations do provide that bears on litigation or review is the administrative framework: the Chief Officer must give notice of intention and reasons and invite submissions before classifying a place or before refusing or withdrawing approval of a safety report (r.20, r.29(1)). If the Chief Officer refuses or withdraws approval the operator must be given written notice of the decision, reasons and the right to have the decision reviewed under the Act s.67 (r.29(2)). The presence of that right signals a statutory route to administrative review under the Act rather than a private right of appeal within the Regulations themselves.

In addition, the Regulations vest finality in certain Chief Officer determinations. For example, if a question arises as to what procedure is the relevant procedure for classifying a substance under definitions in Schedule 1, clause 2 (that is, questions about class, classification code, division, hazchem code, packing group and subsidiary hazard), the question is to be decided by the Chief Officer and that decision is final and conclusive (r.10(5)-(6)). Final and conclusive wording typically narrows the grounds on which courts will interfere, but it does not eliminate judicial review as a constitutional or administrative law matter in all circumstances; however, the regulations do not elaborate those limits.

For practitioners preparing to litigate or seek review, the relevant procedural touchstones found in the regulations are:

the statutory requirement for pre-decision consultation and written reasons for classification or refusal/withdrawal (r.20, r.29);
the express right to have certain decisions reviewed under the Act s.67 (r.29(2));
the finality clause for technical classification decisions made by the Chief Officer under r.10(5)-(6).

Because the Regulations do not themselves narrate litigation history, practitioners must consult the broader litigation record, tribunal decisions and judicial review cases involving the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004 or administrative decisions of the Chief Officer to find precedent and reported determinations relevant to interpretation and review of these regulations. The Regulations anchor the administrative pathway in statutory consultation and review rights but do not document any decided cases.

The regulations contain numerous technical and procedural features that create practical traps for operators and advisers. These are concrete implementation risks that recur in enforcement and compliance settings.

Critical quantity arithmetic and exclusions. The critical quantity for multiple substances uses an aggregation formula that excludes any substance present in a quantity less than 2 per cent of its threshold quantity from the calculation (r.9(2)(b)). Practitioners who rely on rough rounding or approximate aggregations risk mis‑classifying a site because the formula is precise. Also for a single substance the trigger is only 10 per cent of the threshold (r.9(2)(a)), which can be substantially lower than a facility operator might expect given the threshold numbers in Schedule 1.
Mixture calculations. When substances are present as part of mixtures the quantity of the substance is determined by the formula in r.8(2) (mixture quantity times percentage of the substance). Failure to apply this formula correctly may understate or overstate presence and affect whether notification and approval duties are triggered.
“Likely to be at a place” tied to firm decisions. A Schedule 1 substance is likely to be at a place if the operator has made a decision to implement a change or introduce plant/process likely to result in that quantity (r.7). That means pre‑implementation decisions can trigger notification duties; operators cannot rely on “not yet present” as a basis to delay notification if a decision to implement has been made.
Existing facility carve-out for certain offences. Regulation 11(2) provides that r.11 does not apply in relation to an existing facility as defined in r.4. The definition requires that the place immediately before commencement day was a dangerous goods site licensed under the repealed 1992 regulations and that the licence allowed more than the critical quantity (r.4 definition of existing facility). Operators must check whether their site meets that narrow definition to determine if the strict pre-approval storage prohibition applies.
Tight timing between classification notice and required approved safety report. If the Chief Officer decides to classify a place, the notice must include a statement that the operator must have an approved safety report before the day specified in the notice or the relevant compliance day (r.21(2)). For existing facilities the date cannot be earlier than the first anniversary of the commencement day unless agreed; but for other places timing can be acute. Operators proceeding to increase quantities must secure an approved safety report before exceeding the critical quantity or face strict penalties (r.11).
Chief Officer finality on technical category questions. If there is an ambiguity about which procedure determines class, classification code, division or similar matters, the Chief Officer’s decision is final and conclusive (r.10(5)-(6)). That concentrates technical interpretive authority in the regulator and limits internal challenge routes.
High and recurring fees. Schedule 3 sets substantial fees for approval of safety reports and equal annual fees by class (Sch.3 cl.1 and cl.2). The approval fee and the annual fee are the same amount per class under the current text; Class A facilities face $129,000 for approval and $129,000 annual fees per Sch.3 (as inserted in SL 2023/36 and amended). These are material costs that must be budgeted and can be triggered by classification notices, not by regulator discretion alone.
Employee consultation documentation. Both the risk assessment and the safety management system must be prepared in consultation with employees, and the operator must record consultation details (r.23(2)(e), r.24(2)(b)). A failure to document adequate consultation could later be treated as non‑compliance, particularly if an approval decision or review turns on the presence of employee engagement.
Broad notifiable information requirements. Notifications must include items such as land use and zoning for the surrounding area, copies of material safety data sheets for each dangerous good and plans showing layout and storage areas (r.17; Sch.2). Operators who provide incomplete or out-of-date information risk penalties under r.15(4).
Multiple avenues for directions and information demands. The Chief Officer may direct notification where there are reasonable grounds (r.16), may demand further information post-notification (r.18), and may require information exchange between proximate facilities (r.31). These directions require rapid compliance and can involve commercial confidentiality and operational coordination issues.
Timing of review obligations. The operator must review the safety report before implementing significant changes (r.30(1)(a)) and in response to a wide range of triggers, including changes in zoning, incidents, expiry of five years or a Chief Officer request (r.30(1)(b)-(f)). Not recognising these review triggers can create exposure if a change is implemented without an updated, approved safety report.
Reduced first annual fee discretion and grace period traps. r.34(5) allows the Chief Officer to reduce the first annual payment proportionally where the approval date does not align with the site licence anniversary; failure to seek that reduction where appropriate may cause an unnecessary full-year fee. Late payment is subject to a $41 late payment fee (r.34(7)); while small, the existence of a fixed administrative late fee is indicative of strict financial administration.

Operators and advisers should build checklists that: (a) accurately compute quantities using r.8 and r.9 arithmetic; (b) map decisions that qualify as “likely to be at a place” under r.7; (c) ensure full documentation of employee consultation for RA and SMS; (d) prepare complete notifiable information per Sch.2; (e) budget for substantial application and annual fees in Sch.3; and (f) map timelines from the notification and classification notices to compliance day and safety report approval.

Compliance requires a structured program: quantify presence, manage notifications and timing, prepare the mandated documents in the required form, engage relevant stakeholders, seek approval and maintain approved systems. Below is a practical compliance roadmap tied to the specific regulatory provisions.

Establish whether the regulations apply to the place. Determine if the place is controlled or managed by you (r.6) and whether Schedule 1 substances are present or likely to be present. Use r.8 to calculate the quantity of each substance present (include process vessels, piping, storage tanks and potential escape from connected pipelines). For mixtures apply r.8(2) to derive the actual substance quantities. Determine the threshold quantity for each Schedule 1 substance using Sch.1 Table 1 first and Table 2 if absent from Table 1 (r.10). Apply the single-substance test (more than 10% of threshold) or multi-substance aggregation formula (r.9(2)) to see if the critical quantity is exceeded. Exclude substances present at less than 2% of their threshold as required.
If the critical quantity is likely to be exceeded, notify the Chief Officer promptly. If more than the critical quantity is likely to be at the place and the Chief Officer has not yet decided whether to classify the place, the operator must give notification that complies with r.17 as soon as practicable (r.14). Prepare the notification in writing, state the relevant date (r.17(1)-(2)) and include the notifiable information listed in Schedule 2 (Sch.2). If you are proposing a notifiable change (see r.15 definition) that will cause the critical quantity to be exceeded you must notify under r.15(3) before implementing the change.
Use the notification to manage timing of changes. Do not implement the change or allow the critical quantity to be exceeded until either the Chief Officer has decided not to classify the place or, if classified, there is an approved safety report for the place (r.11(1)(a)-(b), r.12). Plan projects with time to secure safety report approval or for the operator to seek an agreed compliance date with the Chief Officer (r.21(3) provides for agreement on dates for existing facilities).
Prepare the three mandatory documents for a major hazard facility. If the Chief Officer classifies the place you must have, and maintain, a risk assessment (r.23), a safety management system (r.24) and a safety report (r.25). Ensure each document meets the r.23-25 content requirements: RA must identify hazards, probabilities, harms and risk control measures and record the method of reasoning and employee consultation (r.23(2)(a)-(f)); SMS must record policies and procedures to implement the risk control measures including Schedule 4 procedures and record employee consultation (r.24(2)); the safety report must contain notifiable information and identify where RA and SMS are available for inspection (r.25(2)(a)-(c)). The Chief Officer must find the documents in a form acceptable under the regulations before approving the safety report (r.27(1)).
Ensure employee consultation and community/emergency services engagement. Record evidence of employee consultation when preparing the RA and SMS (r.23(2)(e), r.24(2)(b)). Implement Schedule 4 cl.4(3) procedures to inform the community, local government and emergency services about the use of dangerous goods, the risk assessment and protective actions (Sch.4 cl.4(3)). Maintain training programmes and records per Sch.4 cl.1 and cl.4(1)-(2).
Apply for approval and pay fees. Submit the safety report application in an approved form and pay the relevant initial application fee specified in Sch.3 cl.1 where it is the first application for the facility (r.26(1)(a)-(b)). Budget for substantial approval fees and annual fees by class (Sch.3 cl.1-2). For site licence holders the first annual payment must be made before, on or within one month of the safety report approval (r.34(4)) with subsequent payments due within three months of the relevant due date (r.34(6)). If dates do not align, consider seeking a proportional reduction of the first annual payment under r.34(5). Allow for the $41 late payment fee if payment is made in any grace period (r.34(7)).
Make documents acceptable to the Chief Officer. The regulations require the RA, SMS and safety report to be in a form acceptable to the Chief Officer (r.23(2)(f), r.24(2)(c), r.25(2)(d)). Engage experienced technical writers and legal reviewers who can present the method of reasoning, risk control measures and implementation procedures in line with regulatory expectations. Early engagement with the Chief Officer’s office on form and content will reduce the risk of refusal or withdrawal.
Prepare for review and amendment obligations. Implement internal review triggers and calendarised five-year reviews per r.30(1)(e). Also review before significant changes to plant/process/layout (r.30(1)(a)), after incidents (r.30(1)(b)), after zoning changes (r.30(1)(c)), and on Chief Officer request (r.30(1)(f)). If review indicates non-compliance, amend immediately and apply for approval of the amended safety report (r.30(3)). Notify the Chief Officer in writing if no amendment is required after review (r.30(4)).
Respond promptly to Chief Officer directions. If the Chief Officer directs you to notify (r.16), to provide further information (r.18), or to share information with nearby facilities (r.31), comply within the period specified or seek an extension in writing. Non-compliance is an offence with statutory penalties.
Record keeping and transparency. Maintain copies of material safety data sheets, layout plans, employee consultation records, training logs, monitoring and inspection records and evidence of community and emergency services engagement (Sch.2; Sch.4). Make the RA and SMS available for inspection by the Chief Officer as stated in the safety report (r.25(2)(b)-(c)).
Budget and governance. Given the material fees and potential regulatory exposure, integrate regulatory compliance into governance processes: allocate budgets for initial approval and annual fees (Sch.3), maintain a responsible compliance officer as operator contact, and implement audit regimes for SMS monitoring per Sch.4 cl.5.
Seek early regulatory engagement and legal advice. Where technical classification questions arise (for example matching a substance to Table 2 categories), the Chief Officer has final decision-making power (r.10(5)-(6)). Early engagement with the Chief Officer to resolve classification issues and to agree on compliance timelines can reduce the risk of misinterpretation and operational interruption.

Compliance is a programmatic exercise that spans technical measurement, statutory notification, employee and community engagement, documentary preparation to regulator‑acceptable form, fee payment and ongoing review. The regulations spell out discrete steps and timing constraints; prudent operators will integrate these into project planning, procurement, budgeting and governance processes.

Deep Dive

What it does

Current sections