Major Hazard Facilities regulation
All Major Hazard Facilities are to be licensed and facilities with greater than 10 per cent of Schedule 15 chemicals must notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
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Because of the nature of chemicals stored at Major Hazard Facilities (MHF), the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS Regulation) requires:
- all Major Hazard Facilities are to be licensed and jurisdictions have the ability to charge fees for issuing licenses
- facilities with greater than 10% of Schedule 15 chemicals must notify the regulator (by submitting Form 536 – Notification of a facility exceeding 10% of schedule 15 threshold (PDF, 0.14 MB)) and be subject to an inquiry process to determine whether they should be an MHF
- an operator of a Major Hazard Facility to identify security arrangements to prevent unauthorised access as part of their safety case regime and inform and consult with:
- the local council and local community both generally about their operations and in the event of a major incident
- the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service in relation to the preparation and review of emergency plans.
Regulating Major Hazard Facilities
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland regulates MHFs in accordance with the WHS Regulation and the nationally endorsed key principles for MHF regulation.
The legislation has been designed to protect people and property from major incidents by enacting a safety case regime similar in principle to that enacted in Europe and the UK via Seveso II.
Licences for Major Hazard Facilities
Operators of Major Hazard Facilities are granted licences of up to five years if the regulator is satisfied that the facility is able to operate safely, and the safety management system shall control the risk.
Obtaining a licence for a determined Major Hazard Facility
Determined facilities have up to 24 months to apply for a licence. In this time they must comply with all parts of the chapter 7: Hazardous Chemicals of the WHS Regulation, and provide a safety case outline within three months of becoming determined. They must comply with the approved safety case outline and comply with Part 9.3 Duties of operators of determined Major Hazard Facilities.
Complete Form 578 Application for a major hazard facility licence ((PDF, 0.2 MB)) when applying for or renewing a major hazard facility (MHF) licence under s.578, or s.596 of the WHS Regulation.
Fees
| Section | Application type | Fee* $ |
|---|---|---|
| Licences for major hazard facilities | ||
| 17 | Application for major hazard facility licence (s 578(3)) | nil |
| 18 | Relevant fee for grant of major hazard facility licence, for each year as provided under section 583A(a)— | |
| (i) for a tier 1 major hazard facility | 20,670.00 | |
| (ii) for a tier 2 major hazard facility | 37,916.20 | |
| (iii) for a tier 3 major hazard facility | 55,162.40 | |
| 18 | Relevant fee for renewal of major hazard facility licence, for each year as provided under section 583A(b)— | |
| (i) for a tier 1 major hazard facility | 20,670.00 | |
| (ii) for a tier 2 major hazard facility | 37,916.20 | |
| (iii) for a tier 3 major hazard facility | 55,162.40 | |
| 20 | Application for replacement of major hazard facility licence document (s 594(4)(c) | nil |
| 21 | Application for renewal of major hazard facility licence (s 596(2)(c)) | nil |
| 22 | Application for transfer of major hazard facility licence (s 600(2)(b)) | nil |
| 23 | Application to cancel major hazard facility licence (s 601(2)(b)) | nil |
| *On 1 July 2023 fees and charges made pursuant to the Queensland Treasury Principles for Fees and Charges (October 2021) have increased by 3.4%, as per the annual Government Indexation Rate (GIR) for the 2023-24 financial year. | ||