Medical Surveillance And Control Measures (SO2/AC3)

An employer must ensure that an employee is under medical surveillance if:

• The employee may be exposed to an HCA listed in Table 4 of Annexure 2;
• The exposure of the employee to any chemical agent hazardous to his or her health is such that an identifiable disease or adverse effect to his or her health may be related to the exposure, there is a reasonable likelihood that the disease or effect may occur under the particular conditions of his or her work, and there are techniques to diagnose indications of the disease or the effect as far as is reasonably practicable; or
• The occupational health practitioner recommends that the relevant employee should be under medical surveillance, in which case the employer may call on an occupational medicine practitioner to ratify the appropriateness of such recommendation.

In order to comply with the provisions of sub-regulation (1), the employer must, as far as is reasonably practicable, ensure:

• That an initial health evaluation is carried out by an occupational health practitioner immediately before or within 14 days after a person commences employment, where any exposure exists or may exist, which comprises—
  • An evaluation of the employee’s medical and occupational history;
  • A physical examination; and
  • Any other essential examination which, in the opinion of the occupational health practitioner, is desirable in order to enable the practitioner to do a proper evaluation;
• That, subsequent to the initial health evaluation contemplated in paragraph (a), the relevant employee undergoes examinations as contemplated in paragraph (a)(ii) and (iii), at intervals not exceeding two years or at intervals specified by an occupational medicine practitioner.

An employer may not permit an employee, who has been certified unfit for work by an occupational medicine practitioner, to work in a workplace or part of a workplace in which he or she would be exposed:

• Provided that the relevant employee may be permitted to return to work which will expose him or her if he or she is certified fit for that work beforehand by an occupational medicine practitioner.

The employer must record and investigate the incident contemplated in sub-regulation (3) in compliance with regulation 8 of the General Administrative Regulations.