National Ban on Manufactured stone
Australia introduced a national ban on work involving the manufacture, supply, processing or installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs in 2024.
For the purposes of Australian workplace health and safety laws, engineered stone is defined as an artificial product that:
- contains at least 1% crystalline silica as a weight/weight concentration, and
- is created by combining natural stone materials with other chemical constituents (such as water, resins, or pigments), and becomes hardened.
Engineered stone does not include:
- concrete and cement products
- bricks, pavers, and other similar blocks
- ceramic wall and floor tiles
- sintered stone (provided it does not contain resin)
- porcelain products (provided they do not contain resin)
- roof tiles
- grout, mortar, render, and plasterboard.