General information, not medical or safety advice. Safe Work Australia develops the national work health and safety policy; your state or territory work health and safety regulator says how the rules apply where you are.
1Where the silica is
Safe Work Australia describes silica as silicon dioxide, a natural mineral that makes up much of most rocks, sand and soils, and goes into concrete, engineered stone and bricks. Its crystalline forms are generally considered more hazardous than the non-crystalline ones, and quartz is the most common crystalline form.
How much crystalline silica a material carries varies widely. In Safe Work Australia’s typical ranges, marble holds up to 7%, natural sandstone between 52% and 95%, and engineered stone up to 97%; it notes that natural stone varies with its source and the figures are general guidance only. The full table is on its crystalline silica page.
2What releases it
When a material containing crystalline silica is cut, sanded, polished, drilled or crushed, it can give off particles called respirable crystalline silica. Safe Work Australia says they are too small to see and can hang in the air for a long time. Among the work it lists as producing that dust, these are the jobs closest to a home renovation:
- cutting, grinding or polishing natural and engineered stone benchtops with power tools;
- angle grinding, cutting, jackhammering and chiselling concrete or masonry;
- cutting and laying pavers;
- construction, building and demolition;
- clean-up, such as sweeping.
The last item is easy to miss. The dust from a cut does not end with the cut.
3Why it matters
Breathing in respirable crystalline silica can cause silicosis and lung cancer, diseases that can take years to show symptoms and may keep getting worse after the exposure stops. Safe Work Australia also lists chronic bronchitis, emphysema, kidney damage and scleroderma among the diseases that can follow. In its words, “All silica-related diseases are preventable by using controls that eliminate or effectively minimise exposure to RCS.” (Safe Work Australia, CC BY 4.0)
4The engineered stone ban
From 1 July 2024, the Commonwealth and every state and territory made it an offence for a business to carry out, or direct or allow a worker to carry out, work to make, supply, process or install engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs. From 1 January 2025 they also became prohibited imports.
The ban turns on a definition. Under the model regulations, engineered stone is an artificial product with at least 1% crystalline silica by weight, made by combining natural stone materials with other ingredients such as water, resins or pigments, that then hardens. The table below sorts some common materials by that definition.
| Material or product | Under the ban? | Safe Work Australia’s reason |
|---|---|---|
| Engineered stone benchtop, panel or slab | Yes | The ban applies only to benchtops, panels and slabs that meet all three parts of the definition. |
| Artificial stone slab with less than 1% crystalline silica | No | The definition needs at least 1% crystalline silica. |
| Porcelain or sintered stone with no resin | No | Excluded from the definition while it contains no resin. |
| Concrete, bricks, pavers, ceramic tiles, roof tiles, grout, mortar, render, plasterboard | No | Listed as not engineered stone. |
| Finished engineered stone items such as a kitchen sink or garden ornament | No | Not a benchtop, panel or slab, and not meant to be processed further. |
“Not banned” is not the same as harmless to cut. Safe Work Australia says dust from processing any kind of stone benchtop, panel or slab can pose health risks when breathed in, and its silica page lists cutting pavers and chiselling concrete or masonry among the work that produces the dust.
5A benchtop already in the kitchen
Safe Work Australia says the available evidence suggests installed engineered stone does not pose a safety risk in a home as long as it is not processed, for example cut or polished. Risks can arise when legacy stone is removed, repaired, modified or disposed of.
Its advice to householders: “it is important that you don’t undertake any work with engineered stone yourself if you are not qualified” (Safe Work Australia, CC BY 4.0). It says to use a qualified tradesperson, who must use control measures to minimise dust and must wear respiratory protection. A business planning to remove, repair or modify installed engineered stone must notify the work health and safety regulator first; in Victoria, employers do not have to notify, but the processing must still be controlled.
Taking a benchtop out to repair a cabinet and putting the same one back counts as installation under the model regulations. Safe Work Australia says interim exemptions allowing re-installation in specific circumstances have been granted in all jurisdictions, and that the state or territory regulator can explain them.