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Building and construction consultations
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Work with engineered stone and materials containing crystalline silica
- Minister's foreword
- Executive summary
- Introduction
- Current risk requirements
- Problem definition
- Options for working with engineered stone and materials containing crystalline silica
- Closing remarks
- Summary of all consultation questions
- Glossary
- Annex I: Silicosis and engineered stone background
- Annex II: Overview of the health and safety regulatory regime
- Annex III: Revised Workplace Exposure Standard
- Annex IV: Further information on the status quo
- Annex V: Australia’s amendments to its regulatory settings in response to the risks posed by RCS
- Making it easier to build granny flats (2024)
- Building Code fire safety review discussion document
- Review of the building consent system (snapshot)
- Proposed amendments to the BuiltReady Scheme Rules public consultation
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Building consent system review: Options paper summary of submissions
- Introduction
- Key themes from submissions
- Promoting competition in the building regulatory system
- Removing impediments to product substitution and variation
- Strengthening roles and responsibilities
- New assurance pathways
- More efficient and streamlined delivery of building consent services
- Better performance monitoring and system stewardship
- Better responding to the needs and aspirations of Māori
- Addressing the interface between the building and resource consent system
- Submitter details
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Improving efficiency in the inspection process: Discussion document
- Use of information
- Minister's foreword
- Introduction
- Increasing the uptake of remote inspections
- Section one: Options to increase the uptake of remote inspections and improve efficiency of inspection processes
- Section two: Increasing inspection capacity through the use of Accredited Organisations (Building)
- Appendix one: Full list of consultation questions
- Appendix two: Summary of options for feedback
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Consultation document: Insulation requirements in housing and other buildings
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Insulation in housing and small buildings
- 3. Insulation in large buildings
- Appendix A: Proposed changes to Acceptable Solution H1/AS1 Energy Efficiency for all housing, and bu
- Appendix B: Proposed changes to Verification Method H1/VM1 Energy Efficiency for all housing, and buildings up to 300m squared
- Appendix C: Proposed changes to Acceptable Solution H1/AS2 Energy Efficiency for buildings greater than 300m squared
- Appendix D: Proposed changes to Verification Method H1/VM2 Energy Efficiency for buildings greater than 300m squared
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Work with engineered stone and materials containing crystalline silica
Executive summary
Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) poses a significant health risk to workers that are exposed to processing and manipulation of products with a high crystalline silica content, such as engineered stone.
On this page
Engineered stone is the name given to a range of highly polished, durable, and affordable benchtop products that have become increasingly popular for use in kitchens and bathrooms since the late 1980s.
As the demand for engineered stone benchtop and similar fabricated products continues to grow, this has resulted in a workforce of between 600–1,000 workers being at significantly elevated risk of silica-related disease.
RCS exposure can lead to silicosis, a chronic fibrotic lung disease, that can emerge in workers after varying degrees of exposure. This includes acute silicosis (<1 year exposure), accelerated silicosis (3–10 years exposure), or chronic silicosis (typically >20 years but may be less).
Due to the associated health risks of RCS, California (United States of America) has required increased exposure control methods[1] and the United Kingdom’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently sought industry feedback on new guidelines for working with engineered stone. In Australia, Commonwealth, State, and Territory Workplace Relations and Work Health and Safety (WHS) Ministers met to settle a national response to the use of engineered stone. Ultimately, the Australian model WHS laws were updated to implement a national ban on the import, supply, or use of engineered stone from 1 July 2024, and all Australian states have adopted this ban. Australia is the only country to introduce a ban of this nature.
We are considering options to ensure workers in New Zealand are protected from the risks, while ensuring we follow an evidence-based approach which also considers the economic and equity impacts of any potential changes.
We are now consulting on options that would eliminate or reduce risks to workers frequently exposed to RCS. These options range from import restrictions through to mandatory workplace requirements and standards, or to mandatory health and exposure monitoring. The options outlined in this discussion document are preliminary only. Their inclusion in this document does not mean that changes will be made, and we note that new options may be developed based on submissions received.
We ask a series of questions throughout this document. Your answers and any additional information that you can provide will help us determine what is the best option to ensure workers’ health and safety in engineered stone and other RCS-generative industries.
Consultation closes on 18 March 2025.
Footnote
[1] Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) for General Industry, see: Frequently Asked Question about Respirable Crystalline Silica Standards and Resources(external link) — State of California Department of Industrial Relations