In Queensland, dust on a construction site is a regulated health hazard, not just a cleaning problem. Since 1 May 2023, a dedicated code of practice has set out how silica dust should be managed on all construction work, and since 1 September 2024 the Work Health and Safety Regulation has required every process involving a material with at least one per cent crystalline silica to be controlled. For demolition and strip-out work, where concrete, brick, tile and stone are cut, broken and cleared every day, that makes dust control a legal duty as much as a courtesy to the people nearby.
This guide explains why construction dust matters, what the Queensland rules say in plain English, and what good dust control looks like on a demolition or strip-out job. It is written for builders, site and facilities managers, commercial tenants and property owners engaging a contractor, so you know what to expect and what to ask.
Why does dust on a construction site matter so much?
The main concern is respirable crystalline silica, usually shortened to RCS. It is a very fine dust, small enough to be breathed deep into the lungs, and it is created when materials containing silica are cut, ground, drilled or crushed. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland describes silicosis, one of the diseases RCS can cause, as incurable. Because the particles are so small, the dust that does the harm is often not the dust you can see settling on the floor.
Beyond health, uncontrolled dust has practical costs on any working site:
- It travels. Without containment, fine dust moves through ceiling spaces, air-conditioning and doorways into areas that are still in use.
- It damages equipment. Computers, servers, lifts and building services do not cope well with construction dust.
- It affects neighbours. In a shared building or a busy strip of shops, dust reaching the next tenancy creates complaints and delays.
- It adds clean-up time. Dust that escapes the work area has to be cleaned later, and that time is rarely free.
Good dust management deals with all of these at once, which is why it belongs in the plan for a demolition job from the start rather than being added at the end.
Which materials and tasks create silica dust?
Crystalline silica is found in many common building materials, including concrete, bricks, tiles and stone. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland lists cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, polishing, scabbling and crushing as the high-energy processes that release RCS from those materials.
On a typical internal demolition or strip-out, that includes tasks such as:
- breaking up and removing floor and wall tiles, along with the adhesive and screed underneath
- cutting or grinding concrete slabs, hobs and plinths
- removing brick or block walls
- chasing or drilling into masonry
- removing stone or engineered stone benchtops
Dust that has already settled can be a hazard too. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland notes that dry sweeping and compressed air can put settled dust back into the air, which is why the clean-up method matters as much as the demolition method.
What do the Queensland rules actually say?
Several instruments work together. None of them replaces the others, and a contractor working in Queensland needs to be across all of them.
The silica code of practice for construction
The Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022 commenced in Queensland on 1 May 2023. It is an approved code of practice under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, it was Australia’s first silica dust code of practice for the construction industry, and it applies to all construction work.
The code sets out how duty holders can meet their legal obligations. That includes using proven dust control methods such as water suppression and on-tool dust extraction, providing suitable respiratory protective equipment to workers at risk, using air monitoring data to check that controls are working, providing health monitoring for at-risk workers, and consulting, training and supervising workers. When inspectors visit a site, they look at the controls in place and whether they are equivalent to, or better than, the controls identified in Appendix 4 of the code.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland guidance also states that any construction task generating RCS from a product containing one per cent or more crystalline silica is treated as high risk construction work. High risk construction work requires a safe work method statement before it starts.
Crystalline silica substances and silica risk control plans
From 1 September 2024, amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) introduced stronger rules for crystalline silica substances. A crystalline silica substance is any material containing at least one per cent crystalline silica by weight, and the regulations require all processing of these materials to be controlled.
Where processing is assessed as high risk, a silica risk control plan (or a safe work method statement, for high risk construction work) must be prepared and kept available for inspection, and additional control requirements apply. If a worker is still at risk of exposure after those controls are in place, suitable respiratory protective equipment must be provided and worn.
The engineered stone ban and existing benchtops
Manufacturing, supplying, processing and installing engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs has been prohibited in Queensland since 1 July 2024. That does not mean existing engineered stone kitchens and bathrooms are frozen in place. Work on previously installed engineered stone, including removal and disposal, is still permitted, but the business doing it must notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland before any processing starts.
Processing, in this context, means using a power tool or other mechanical plant to crush, cut, grind, trim, sand, polish or drill the stone. Failing to notify is an offence, and a business that keeps doing this work must notify again once 12 months have passed since its previous notification.
This is directly relevant to kitchen demolition in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, as well as commercial kitchenettes fitted out in recent years. If your project involves removing an engineered stone benchtop, ask your contractor how they will handle it before work is booked.
Exposure standards are becoming exposure limits
Australia is moving from Workplace Exposure Standards to Workplace Exposure Limits for airborne contaminants, a change that takes effect on 1 December 2026. Until 30 November 2026, businesses must continue to ensure no one is exposed above the current exposure standards. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has noted that the underlying duty to manage exposure to airborne contaminants does not change with the new name. For clients, the practical point is simple: a contractor’s dust controls should be designed to keep exposure as low as reasonably practicable, not just to stay under a number.
Asbestos is a separate regime
Asbestos is covered by its own, stricter set of rules, including licensing for removal work, notification to the regulator and clearance requirements. General dust management is not a substitute for proper asbestos identification and removal. If asbestos may be present, it needs to be identified and dealt with under the asbestos framework before demolition starts. Find out more on our asbestos removal page.
Who is responsible for dust on a construction site?
Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), the primary duty sits with each person conducting a business or undertaking, known as a PCBU. On a site with several contractors, more than one business can hold the same duty at the same time, and those duty holders must consult, cooperate and coordinate their activities with each other.
For a client engaging a demolition contractor, that has a few practical implications:
- Choose a contractor who can explain their dust controls in detail before work starts, not after.
- Share what you know about the site: the age of the building, the asbestos register if there is one, sensitive areas, and who will still be using the space.
- Agree how dust will be managed around people who are not part of the job, such as your staff, neighbouring tenants or residents.
This is general information only. For advice on your specific duties, contact Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or a qualified WHS professional.
What does good dust control look like on a demolition job?
Good dust control follows the same logic as the rest of work health and safety: deal with the dust at its source first, and rely on protective equipment last. On a professionally run demolition or strip-out, you should expect to see:
- A planned method. Demolition methods chosen to generate less dust in the first place, with the dustiest tasks sequenced for when the fewest people are nearby.
- Water suppression. Water applied at the point of cutting or breaking, so dust is captured before it becomes airborne.
- On-tool extraction. Tools fitted with dust extraction and connected to suitable vacuum units.
- The work area sealed off with barriers so dust stays inside it.
- Negative air pressure and HEPA filtration. Air machines drawing air out of the work area through HEPA filters, so air flows into the contained zone rather than out of it.
- Clean-up without dry sweeping. HEPA vacuums and wet methods instead of brooms or compressed air.
- Respiratory protection. Suitable respiratory protective equipment for workers wherever a risk of exposure remains after the other controls.
- Checks that it is working. Air monitoring where it is required, to confirm the controls are effective.
For more on the equipment and techniques involved in home projects, see our guide to dust-free residential demolition methods and equipment.
Does dust control still matter on a small internal job?
Yes. The silica code applies to all construction work, not just large sites, and many of the highest-dust tasks happen on small jobs: stripping tiles out of a single bathroom, cutting a new opening in a masonry wall, or grinding back a concrete floor in one tenancy. Small jobs are often carried out inside buildings that are still occupied, which makes containment more important, not less.
Occupied commercial buildings raise the stakes further. Offices, shops, medical suites and childcare centres often sit next to, above or below the work area, and share air-conditioning, ceiling voids and corridors with it. Dust that escapes in these settings reaches people who have nothing to do with the job, and it can set off smoke detectors, contaminate stock or force a neighbouring business to close for a clean. Scaling dust control to the job, rather than skipping it because the job is small, is what keeps a one-day strip-out from turning into a week of complaints.
What should you ask a demolition contractor about dust?
You do not need to be a safety expert to tell whether a contractor takes dust seriously. Ask them:
- Which tasks on this job will generate silica dust, and how will each one be controlled?
- Will you use water suppression or on-tool extraction for cutting, grinding and breaking?
- How will you contain the work area and protect the rest of the building?
- How will you clean up, and do you use HEPA vacuums?
- Will there be a safe work method statement or silica risk control plan for this work?
- How will you handle any engineered stone benchtops being removed?
- What happens if asbestos is found or suspected partway through the job?
Clear, specific answers are a good sign. A vague promise that the site will be kept tidy is not the same thing.
How does Spotless Demolition manage dust?
Dust control is built into how Spotless Demolition approaches internal demolition and strip-outs across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and it is available as a dedicated dust management service. Depending on the job, that includes containment barriers around the work zone, negative air machines with HEPA filtration, wet cutting and dust suppression, and HEPA vacuuming during clean-up. The right combination depends on the materials, the building and who else is using the space, which is why every job starts with an inspection.
Planning commercial work before the end of the year? Our guide to end-of-year office strip-outs in Brisbane covers the timing and approvals to sort before the Christmas shutdown.
Quick answers
Is construction dust regulated in Queensland?
Yes. Silica dust from construction work is covered by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) and a dedicated silica code of practice for construction, which has applied to all construction work in Queensland since 1 May 2023.
What is a silica risk control plan?
It is a document that must be prepared, and kept available for inspection, where processing a crystalline silica substance is assessed as high risk. For high risk construction work, a safe work method statement can fill this role.
Can an engineered stone benchtop still be removed?
Yes. Removing and disposing of previously installed engineered stone is permitted, but the business doing the work must notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland before any processing starts.
Is dry sweeping OK for cleaning up construction dust?
No. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland notes that dry sweeping and compressed air can disturb settled dust and put it back into the air. HEPA vacuums and wet cleaning methods are the better approach.
Talk to us about dust control on your next project
If you are planning a demolition or strip-out in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast and want dust managed properly from the first day, request an estimate. We will inspect the site, talk through the materials involved and explain how dust will be controlled before any work begins.
