Mine Safety
Management System

Yes. In Western Australia, mine operators are required to have a documented safety management system under the WHS (Mines) Regulations 2022. The system must address Principal Mining Hazards, allocate duty holder responsibilities, and support the operator’s obligations under the WHS Act. LGIRS (formerly DMIRS) inspects and assesses MSMS documentation and its operational application, so the system needs to work in practice, not only on paper.

A WA MSMS must satisfy the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 and the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022, both administered by LGIRS (formerly DMIRS). The core elements include: identification and control of Principal Mining Hazards, documented Principal Mining Hazard Management Plans (PMHMPs) for each, clear allocation of duty holder responsibilities, a consultation and communication framework, an incident reporting and investigation process, and audit and review cycles. The system needs to work in practice, not just on paper.

LGIRS (Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety) is the WA regulator for the mining sector, renamed from DMIRS in 2023. LGIRS publishes guidance material, codes of practice, and inspection expectations that WA mine operators are expected to meet. Its MSMS-related requirements are grounded in the WHS Act and WHS (Mines) Regulations, with additional emphasis on Principal Mining Hazards, PMHMPs, notifiable events, competency, and record-keeping. Systems designed for LGIRS inspection need to be operationally credible, not just documentation-complete.

The MSMS is the overarching system of policies, procedures, and structures that manage safety across the whole mine site. A PMHMP (Principal Mining Hazard Management Plan) is a specific sub-document within the MSMS that addresses one identified Principal Mining Hazard, for example ground control, explosives, or airborne contaminants. A WA mine site will typically have one MSMS and multiple PMHMPs, each addressing a specific hazard category as required under the WHS (Mines) Regulations.

A Mine Safety Management System (MSMS) is the overarching framework used to manage work health and safety risks across a mining operation. It brings together the mine’s safety policies, risk management processes, management plans, procedures, responsibilities and controls into one integrated system.

In Western Australia, the MSMS must be documented, comprehensive and integrated, and should cover the full lifecycle of the mine, including planning, design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and closure.

Yes. Under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022 (WA), a mine operator must establish and implement a Mine Safety Management System before mining operations commence.

The requirement applies to all mining operations, including exploration operations, whether the operation is new or existing. The size and complexity of the MSMS should be proportionate to the nature, size, location, stage and risks of the operation.

A compliant Mine Safety Management System in WA must address the requirements of the WHS Mines Regulations and provide an integrated framework for managing the mine’s health and safety risks.

Depending on the operation, this includes areas such as the health and safety policy, risk management processes, principal mining hazard management plans, emergency management, health management, contractor management, management and supervisory structures, training and competency, consultation, incident management, document control, management of change and processes for monitoring, auditing and continual improvement.

The level of detail required will vary depending on the nature, complexity and stage of the operation and its associated risks.

A Principal Mining Hazard Management Plan (PMHMP) sets out how a mine operator will manage the risks associated with a principal mining hazard — a hazard with a reasonable potential to result in multiple fatalities.

Examples can include geotechnical instability, inrush, mine shafts and winding systems, mobile plant interactions, fire and explosion and other hazards identified by the mine operator. A PMHMP must be prepared for each principal mining hazard identified at the mine and forms part of the broader MSMS.

Each PMHMP should identify the hazard, assess the associated risks and describe the controls required to manage those risks.

A Mine Safety Management System is not a document that should be prepared once and left unchanged. The WA requirements include processes for performance measurement, auditing, review and continual improvement.

The MSMS must have arrangements for review at least once every three years to ensure it remains effective. Earlier reviews may also be required where circumstances or controls change. The system should include performance standards and an audit process, with identified deficiencies documented and addressed.

Where changes to controls are identified through a review, those changes must be tracked through to implementation and the MSMS revised where necessary.

Contractor management needs to be integrated into the mine’s MSMS. Where contractors work at a mine, the mine operator must identify how health and safety risks arising from their activities will be controlled and how contractor performance will be monitored.

A contractor may work under the mine operator’s MSMS or, where appropriate, under its own health and safety management plan. If the contractor proposes to use its own plan, the mine operator must review the plan and formally determine whether it is adequate before the contractor commences work.