Over the next 12 months, SafeWork SA inspectors will conduct work site visits and audits when lead risk notifications are received to ensure businesses are complying with their legislative obligations.

Compliance action will be taken against businesses where identified.

SafeWork SA received 122 lead risk work notifications in 2024. So far in 2025, 55 notifications have been received.

Businesses conducting lead risk work must notify SafeWork SA of the activities within seven days of the work commencing or when the work is determined to be lead risk work.

Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 define lead risk work as work carried out in a lead process that is likely to cause the blood lead level of a worker carrying out the work to exceed the stipulated levels.

Any worker with a raised blood lead level above the prescribed limited needs to be removed from that work until their blood lead level reduces to an acceptable level.

Businesses that remove a worker from carrying out lead risk work as a result of health monitoring, must notify SafeWork SA if the worker's blood lead level exceeds stipulated limits or the medical practitioner supervising the health monitoring directs the worker be removed. The removal levels reduced as of 1 July 2021.

The levels are now:

• 30μg/dL for females not of reproductive capacity and males
• 10μg/dL for females of reproductive capacity.

The health effects of exposure to lead are well documented and can include abdominal pain, constipation, irritability, memory loss, nausea, weakness, high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney damage/disease, brain damage, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infertility.

Entrance routes into the body from lead exposure can result from ingestion, absorption and inhalation of lead contaminated dust.

Workers exposed to lead and lead containing products may also place their families at risk of lead exposure if wearing contaminated clothing home from work.

This is often referred to as take home lead, which is the responsibility of the business to ensure doesn’t happen. Industry sectors that conduct lead risk work include:

• Construction and Demolition industry
• Battery manufacturing and recycling
• Lead smelters / foundries
• Manufacturing industry
• Utilities industry.

The SafeWork SA compliance campaign will continue until July 2026.

Quotes attributable to SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell.

Lead exposure poses significant health risks and must be taken seriously.

Despite lead being phased out in a lot of its former applications, it remains in old products which may present health risks if not appropriately managed.

Business owners must identify if lead presents in any form in their workplaces to ensure workers and others’ exposure to it is eliminated, or if not possible, minimised.

Our inspectors will be paying close attention to ensure businesses involved in lead risk work are complying with their regulatory responsibilities.

Further links:

• Lead risk work | SafeWork SA
• Notification of lead risk work | SafeWork SA