Work Health and Safety (Re-installation of existing engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs) Exemption 2024

The Work Health and Safety (Re-installation of existing engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs) Exemption 2024 is a federal legislative instrument made by Comcare under regulation 684 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011. It grants a class exemption from compliance with regulation 529D, but only in a tightly defined situation.

In practical terms, the instrument is aimed at jobs where an existing engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab has to be removed so repair or modification work can be done underneath or behind it, and then that same item is put back. It does not create a broad right to install engineered stone. It is a narrow carve-out for re-installation of the original item, subject to conditions.

The exemption applies to a person conducting a business or undertaking, or PCBU, who carries out, directs or allows a worker to carry out work to remove and re-install an existing engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab in order to undertake repair or minor modifications to installed engineered stone. The instrument also describes the relevant work as situations where removal is necessary to facilitate repair or modification of cabinetry, or to give access to repair or modify some other underlying component.

That means the instrument is directed at the business or undertaking responsible for the work, not only the individual tradesperson physically handling the slab or panel. If your business organises the job, instructs workers, permits the work to happen or contracts it out within your undertaking, you need to consider whether the exemption conditions are met.

This is a Comcare instrument. That matters because not every Australian business is regulated under the Comcare-administered WHS framework. Before relying on the exemption, a business should confirm that the job actually sits within the federal scheme rather than a state or territory WHS regime.

The instrument applies to specific situations where it is necessary to remove an engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab from the underlying cabinetry in order to facilitate repair or modification of cabinetry, or to give access to repair or modify some other underlying component, and then re-install the engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab when the work is completed.

The wording is important. This is not a general exemption for all work involving engineered stone. It is not framed as a broad permission to fabricate, supply or install engineered stone products. It is a class exemption from the prohibition in regulation 529D for a narrow category of re-installation work.

The instrument also makes clear that the exemption operates where the engineered stone item was removed in order for other work to be carried out on the premises. So the focus is on temporary removal linked to repair or modification work, not on replacement projects, redesigns or relocation of the stone to a new place.

The exemption is subject to express conditions. First, it only applies to re-installation of an engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab associated with repair or modification of underlying cabinetry or supporting structure, or to give access to repair or modify some other underlying component. Second, the item must be re-installed in the same location from which it was removed. Third, it must be re-installed at the same address from which it was removed.

The instrument also draws a hard line on replacement. If for any reason the original engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab cannot be re-installed, the exemption does not allow installation of a replacement engineered stone item. That is one of the most important practical limits in the instrument.

There are also procedural and work-method conditions. The PCBU must provide notification to the regulator in accordance with regulation 529G. The PCBU must also ensure that any processing of the engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab necessary to complete the re-installation is for the purpose of removal, repair or minor modification only, in accordance with regulation 529F, and that any processing is controlled.

Because the instrument refers to regulations 529F and 529G without setting out their full text here, businesses should check those provisions directly before starting work.

For many businesses, the issue will arise during repair jobs rather than new fit-outs. A cabinetmaker may need to remove an existing engineered stone benchtop to repair water-damaged cabinets. A maintenance contractor may need to lift a panel to access a concealed component. A facilities contractor may need to remove and re-install a slab after repairing a support underneath it.

The trigger point is not simply that engineered stone is present on site. The trigger point is whether your business is carrying out, directing or allowing work that involves removing an existing engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab and then re-installing that same item after underlying repair or modification work. Another trigger point is whether any processing of the stone is needed to complete the re-installation. If processing is required, the instrument says it must be limited to removal, repair or minor modification only, and it must be controlled.

If the job starts to look like replacement, redesign, relocation or broader installation work, you should not assume the exemption applies. The same caution applies if the original piece is cracked, chipped or otherwise cannot be put back.

The instrument itself is short, but it points to the kinds of records and site controls a prudent business should have before relying on it. At a minimum, you would want a clear job record showing why removal was necessary, what underlying repair or modification work was being done, and confirmation that the same engineered stone item would be re-installed in the same location and at the same address.

You should also keep evidence that the required notification to the regulator was made in accordance with regulation 529G. If any processing is necessary, your records should identify what processing is proposed, why it is necessary to complete the re-installation, and how it is limited to removal, repair or minor modification only. Because the instrument says any processing must be controlled, the business should also document the controls used.

These records matter because a routine repair job can easily drift outside the exemption if the scope changes. Good documentation helps show that the work remained within the narrow terms of the instrument.

The instrument is dated 30 October 2024 and was signed by Comcare. It was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 24 January 2025. Under the text of the instrument, it takes effect on the day after registration.

The duration clause is important. The exemption does not continue forever on a fixed end date in the text provided. Instead, it applies until amendments are made to the WHS Regulations to enable the re-installation of an existing engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab, or until the exemption is revoked. Businesses should therefore check the current status of the instrument and the current WHS Regulations before relying on this page for a live matter.

Before treating a job as covered by this exemption, a business should work through a few practical questions. Are you actually in the Comcare jurisdiction? Is the item an existing engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab already installed at the premises? Is removal necessary so underlying cabinetry, supporting structure or another underlying component can be repaired or modified? Will the same item go back in the same location and at the same address? Can the original item in fact be re-installed?

You should also check whether any processing is needed and, if so, whether it is only for removal, repair or minor modification and will be controlled. Finally, confirm what notification must be given under regulation 529G and when it must be given. If the facts do not fit neatly within those conditions, the safer course is to pause and get advice before proceeding.

A common misunderstanding is that this instrument creates a broad permission to keep working with engineered stone so long as the job is described as a repair. That is not what the text says. The exemption is limited to re-installation of an existing engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab in a narrow repair context, with strict conditions about location, address, notification and controlled processing.

Another common question is whether the exemption can be used if the original piece breaks, chips or otherwise cannot be put back. The answer is no. The instrument expressly says it does not allow installation of a replacement engineered stone item if the original cannot be re-installed. Businesses should also remember that this is a federal Comcare instrument, so the first practical check is always whether the job is actually within the Comcare jurisdiction.

This page is based on the text of the Work Health and Safety (Re-installation of existing engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs) Exemption 2024 as registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. The instrument expressly refers to regulations 529D, 529F, 529G, 684 and 685 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011. Because the full text of regulations 529F and 529G is not reproduced here, businesses should check those provisions directly for the detailed notification and processing requirements.