Interior Designers wanting to provide clear advice to clients on the looming ban on engineered stone can expect a further wait for guidance from government on how the ban will be implemented and what regulations will apply to alternative products.  

The communique from the most recent meeting of state and federal Work Health and Safety Ministers is a detailed summary of their latest decisions. The group agreed that states can adopt transition arrangements to cover contracts that were signed before the end of December 2023. This means that suppliers will have an extra six months (until the end of December 2024) to be able to legally install engineered stone benchtops for these clients after the 1 July 2024 ban has come into effect, as long as there is a 2023 contract in place. During this transition period there will be tighter regulations on processing and installing these products.

The group also agreed that Safe Work Australia should develop new guidance for industry that covers how the regulations will be implemented and what safety frameworks will apply to alternative products. This is expected to be available on the Safe Work Australia website in coming weeks, along with further details on the rules for working with legacy product that is already installed.

The full text of the communique is available from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.

Prior to the meeting the ABC published a story on the confusion within industry on how the ban will be implemented and whether the ban will be extended to alternative products in future.