Health monitoring (WHS)
WHS health monitoring is PCBU-arranged medical checks (spirometry for silica, blood tests for lead) for workers with significant exposure to hazardous substances.
Ask Chalkline about this →Health monitoring is medical monitoring of a worker, arranged and paid for by the PCBU, that tracks whether the worker’s health is being affected by exposure to a hazardous substance. It is required under the WHS Regulations where a worker is doing ongoing work with a scheduled hazardous chemical and there is a significant risk to health from that exposure.
What it involves depends on the substance:
- Respirable crystalline silica: baseline and periodic monitoring, including a respiratory questionnaire and lung-function testing (spirometry), and a low-dose chest scan where indicated.
- Lead: blood lead level testing.
- Isocyanates and some other chemicals: respiratory and, where relevant, skin assessment.
The monitoring must be supervised by a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring. The PCBU pays for it, keeps the records (for a long period, decades for some substances), gives the worker a copy of their results, and acts on any adverse finding.
It is easy to confuse health monitoring with exposure (air) monitoring, but they measure different things. Health monitoring tracks the worker’s health. Exposure monitoring measures the airborne concentration of the substance in the work area. A job can require both, and one does not replace the other.
For a builder the trigger is real and common: if you have workers regularly cutting or grinding engineered stone, concrete or masonry, or doing lead or asbestos work, you most likely owe health monitoring. Arrange it through an occupational physician, keep the records, and treat an abnormal result as a signal to fix the controls, not just a medical formality.
Also known as: Worker health monitoring, medical monitoring.
Category: WHS / Hazardous substances.
Related
See also
References
- Safe Work Australia: health monitoring guidance (verified 2026-06-01)
Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.