News | Gadens advises on successful appeal for Chief Inspector of Coal Mines in Queensland

Gadens acted for the Chief Inspector of Coal Mines in Queensland and the Queensland mining regulator, Resources Safety & Health Queensland, who was successful in an appeal against safety directives to cease using heavy mining equipment during severe lightning events at the Peak Downs Coal Mine.

The Queensland Court of Appeal today clarified that costs of implementing safety measures to reduce risks in coal mining operations are not relevant to the assessment of whether the risks are within “acceptable limits” under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld). Whether risk is within acceptable limits is an absolute measure. The mandatory considerations in the Act, namely “the likelihood of injury or illness to a person arising out of the risk” and “the severity of the injury or illness” may be all that is required to assess whether a particular risk exceeds the maximum risk acceptable to the community.

The decision of the Court of Appeal provides useful guidance to coal mine operators in Queensland on how potential safety risks must be assessed and managed within the industry-specific safety regime of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act.

The judgement can be accessed here.