Risk management training developed by The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) could help Queensland’s roll-out of new safety laws designed to reduce mining fatalities.
“Our G3 G-MIRM Risk Management Systems short course can give participants the tools they need to identify Material Unwanted Events and associated Critical Controls,” MISHC Director Professor Maureen Hassall said.
“Our content is constantly updated to reflect the latest in evidence-based research.”
When 11 miners died in 1994 after an explosion at Queensland’s Moura No. 2 mine, a major safety shakeup led to new legislation as well as the creation of the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC), now part of SMI.
Queensland’s mining sector fatalities have dropped significantly in the past 20 years, from 16.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers in 2003 to 2.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers by 2023 but the death of two men in mine accidents in Queensland in 2024 is a reminder that workers continue to pay a deadly price in a booming sector.
This makes training in critical control management – predicting and controlling for factors leading to fatal accidents, serious injury or illness– more important than ever.
MISHC research fellow Libby Humphries explained that the incoming Resources Safety and Health Legislation Amendment Act 2024 will require critical control management for both coal and metal mines as well as quarries; the new laws start June 2025 and will be mandatory after 1 June 2026.
Researchers in MISHC developed the original Global Minerals Industry Risk Management program (G-MIRM) in the 2000s, a globally recognised suite of critical risk courses that grew out of mining risk management courses offered by the university.
The G3 course is still delivered today and is endorsed by the Queensland government within the competency framework referenced in the legislation.
“For the last 20 years, MISHC has been talking about this concept around critical controls, which was refined with the ICMM guidance published in 2015,” Humphries said.
“But the challenge moving forward is that the current ASQA unit of competency does not reference key parts that are in the new legislation: one of those is critical control management, which our core content has long covered.”
Professor Hassall, explains that MISHC was involved in the original research that underpins the Critical Control approach and continues to do evidence-based research to discover leading practices associated with the effective management of critical risks.
“This research is used to continually update our content so participants can map where they are on the risk and critical control management journey and identify options for further enhancing the effectiveness of their risk and control management systems,” Professor Hassall said.
The next G3 G-MIRM course will take place on 4–7 March 2025 at the St. Lucia campus but will be available at various locations throughout the year, see the website for further details.
