Workplace Exposure Limits for Australian businesses.
From 1 December 2026, Workplace Exposure Standards become Workplace Exposure Limits. Around 250 substances get tighter numbers, 40 new chemicals are added, and peak limits are reviewed. Find out which of your chemicals are affected before the transition date.
What are Workplace Exposure Limits?
Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) are the legally-referenced airborne-concentration limits for hazardous chemicals in Australian workplaces. They replace Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) from 1 December 2026 across all harmonised jurisdictions.
A WEL is typically expressed as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA), a short-term exposure limit (STEL, usually 15 minutes), or a ceiling value that must never be exceeded. If a chemical has a WEL, a PCBU must ensure airborne concentrations stay below it, and that is a duty under the WHS Regulation, not a guideline.
Safe Work Australia's 2024-26 review tightened WES numbers for around 250 substances, added roughly 40 new chemicals, and revised peak limits. For most hazardous-chemical workplaces (manufacturing, welding, construction with silica exposure, healthcare with formaldehyde/ethylene oxide, labs, cleaning and facilities) this is the biggest chemical-safety change in two decades.
Who this transition affects
- Manufacturers handling welding fume, solvents, isocyanates, metal dusts, or process chemicals.
- Construction businesses with silica, welding, paint, adhesive or sealant exposure.
- Healthcare providers using formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, glutaraldehyde, or anaesthetic gases.
- Laboratories, pathology, and research sites with regulated reagent use.
- Cleaning, facilities and contracting businesses with industrial cleaning products or two-pack paints.
- Anyone maintaining a chemical register that currently cites WES numbers.
Three steps. About a minute.
- 1
Tell us about the work
A guided form captures the activity, site, people and conditions: the inputs your safety document actually needs.
- 2
We ground the draft
The drafting engine applies your state's WHS Act, regulations, codes of practice and any reference documents you've uploaded.
- 3
You review and ship
Edit anything, accept the rest, and download a signature-ready PDF with your logo and the right legislation citations.
How RAE IQ delivers it.
Your WEL transition checklist
For most hazardous-chemical workplaces, this is the minimum to have done by 1 December 2026:
- Pull every chemical in your register. Identify which ones have a WEL change (tightened TWA, new STEL, new ceiling, or first-time inclusion).
- Review your existing exposure controls for each affected chemical. A control that delivered "below WES" may not deliver "below WEL."
- Apply the hierarchy of controls: prefer elimination or substitution before tightening engineering controls or PPE.
- Re-run chemical risk assessments for affected substances. Both the legislative reference and the limit change.
- Update your health monitoring programme. New chemicals may trigger new obligations.
- Refresh SDS for affected chemicals. Confirm the SDS references the new WEL numbers, not legacy WES.
- Brief the workers who handle those chemicals, including any new PPE or exposure-control practices.
Frequently asked questions
When does WEL take effect?
On 1 December 2026, Australia transitions from Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) to Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) across all WHS-harmonised jurisdictions. Some substances (like welding fume and respirable crystalline silica) have already had interim lower limits enforced ahead of the full transition.
How many chemicals have tighter limits under WEL?
Safe Work Australia's review tightened WES numbers for around 250 substances, often by a factor of 2-10x. Around 40 chemicals that were not on the WES list now have a WEL. Short-term exposure limits (STEL) and ceiling values were also reviewed, and some peak limits are significantly tighter.
What are the highest-impact changes?
Welding fume (now 1 mg/m³ TWA with tighter limits for constituent metals: manganese, hexavalent chromium, nickel). Respirable crystalline silica (national enforcement regime). Formaldehyde, ethylene oxide and glutaraldehyde (healthcare/lab exposures). Isocyanates in two-pack paints and industrial cleaning.
Do I need to re-do all my chemical risk assessments?
Only for chemicals with a WEL change. For substances where the WEL matches the old WES, the existing risk assessment remains valid. The platform identifies the affected subset automatically so you can focus your re-work effort on the chemicals that actually need it.
Does WEL apply in every state and territory?
Yes, across all harmonised WHS jurisdictions (QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, ACT, NT and Commonwealth). WA is in the process of harmonising and is expected to align. Jurisdiction-specific enforcement timing can vary, so always check your state regulator's most recent guidance.
What about substances that no longer appear on the WEL list?
A small number of substances were removed during the review. The removal typically reflects either declining industrial use or replacement by other regulations (e.g. GHS classification, dangerous-goods controls). The platform flags removals separately from changes so you can verify your controls remain appropriate under whatever other regime applies.