Key takeaways 

• From 1 December 2026, the Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) list replaces the Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) list nationally and in Victoria, introducing new and generally lower limits for many airborne contaminants. While employers’ underlying duties are unchanged, the new limits will require many businesses to reassess exposure risks and controls. 
   
• Some jurisdictions have adopted transitional arrangements for particular substances, including Victoria, where new limits for 15 substances will not commence until 1 December 2029.
   
• Victoria’s 3 year transition provides time to plan, but employers should act now to understand how the changes affect their operations.

Airborne contaminants are a common workplace hazard. They are often invisible and include dusts, gases, fumes, vapours and mists generated by activities such as welding, cutting, grinding, and operating diesel equipment. Exposure to airborne contaminants can cause health effects ranging from irritation to respiratory disease and cancer. 

Workplace exposure limits therefore play an important role in managing these risks by setting limits on the concentration of hazardous substances in workplace air.

From 1 December 2026, new exposure limits will apply in Victoria, including new or lower limits for a range of substances. While employers’ underlying occupational health and safety (OHS) duties remain unchanged, the new limits may require organisations to reassess their airborne contaminant risks and introduce additional controls, monitoring or changes to work practices.

With the changes fast approaching, organisations should review their exposure risks and existing controls now. This article explains the changes, Victoria’s transitional arrangements, and the steps employers should take now to prepare. 

Background to the changes 

Australia first adopted the WES list in 1995. The WES list sets the maximum level of airborne contaminants that most people can be exposed to without harm to their health.

Since the first comprehensive review of the WES list in 2003, more evidence emerged in relation to the adverse effects of certain substances. In response, Safe Work Australia led a comprehensive review process, which began in 2018 and involved subject matter experts and public consultation. This led to Model Law states and territories agreeing to a revised WEL list in 2024, with harmonised implementation from 1 December 2026.

Victoria, which does not adopt the Model Law, and instead regulates OHS under its own framework, undertook a period of consultation on the nationally agreed list in early 2026. Then, on 14 October 2026, Victoria announced that it would adopt the new WEL list through the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Workplace Exposure Limits) Regulations 2026. Corresponding amendments were also made to Victoria’s dangerous goods regulations via the Dangerous Goods (Storage and Handling) Amendment (Workplace Exposure Limits) Regulations 2026. 

While most limits will apply from 1 December 2026, the Victorian regulations apply transitional arrangements for 15 substances until 30 November 2029.

What is changing across Australia? 

From 1 December 2026, the WEL list replaces the WES list, subject to any transitional arrangements. The change from a “standards” to a “limits” list reinforces that these are enforceable limits, not recommended exposure levels, and brings Australia in line with terminology used internationally.

Limits apply to airborne concentrations in an employee’s breathing zone and may be expressed as:

• Time-weighted average: average exposure over an 8 hour working day and 40 hour working week.
• Short-term exposure limit: average exposure over 15 minutes.
• Peak limitation: a concentration that must never be exceeded. 

Most limits on the list of approximately 700 substances remain unchanged. However, the revised WEL list includes:

• revised limits for existing contaminants; 
• removal of exposure limits for 33 non-threshold genotoxic carcinogens, for which no safe exposure level can be established; 
• removal of 6 contaminants whose import, manufacture and use are already prohibited; 
• the introduction of limits for 31 new contaminants; and 
• updated names, groupings, limit types and advisory notations.

How does the Victorian approach differ? 

Victoria’s public consultation process indicated general support for the changes but not for adopting the entire WEL list from 1 December 2026. 

Key stakeholder concerns included:

• the Regulatory Impact Statement finding that quantified costs exceed quantified benefits;
• limitations in monitoring technology and the availability of laboratory and occupational hygiene capacity, particularly in regional areas;
• operational and productivity impacts; and
• disproportionate impacts on small and regional businesses.

In response, the Victorian Government adopted a 3 year transition period for 15 substances, including bitumen fumes, flour dust, grain dust, hydrogen fluoride, among others. 

What do the changes mean for employer obligations 

The changes do not create new duties under Victoria’s OHS laws, and employers’ existing obligation to eliminate or reduce risks from hazardous substances so far as is reasonably practicable is unchanged. 

Critically, exposure limits are not a dividing line between safe and unsafe conditions. Natural human biological variations and individual susceptibilities mean that some workers may be at risk even when the exposure level is below the stated limits. This means employers must still eliminate exposure risks so far as reasonably practicable or, where elimination is not reasonably practicable, reduce those risks so far as reasonably practicable, including below the applicable limit.

Nonetheless, the practical impact of these changes is likely to be significant for businesses that use or generate substances affected by the new limits. Many limits have been substantially reduced, and some substances are subject to a limit for the first time. Industry submissions identified potential costs from new engineering controls, monitoring, interruption to operations, and changes to work practices, particularly in sectors such as grain handling, timber, construction materials, fumigation and mining. 

What should Victoria employers do now? 

Before 1 December 2026, Victorian employers should:

	identify airborne contaminants used, handled, stored or generated in the workplace;
	check the WEL list and Safe Work Australia’s comparison of the WES and WEL lists to identify new or changed limits that may affect their operations;
	assess potential exposure levels and whether existing control measures will meet the new limits;
	review risk assessments and implement additional controls in accordance with the hierarchy of controls;
	for the 15 substances subject to transitional arrangements, develop a plan for achieving compliance with the new WELs by 1 December 2029, including budgeting for any required engineering controls;
	seek advice from a suitably qualified occupational hygienist where necessary; and
	consult with employees and health and safety representatives about the changes.