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NSW Resources

January to June 2026 Compliance priorities

The Resources Regulator will focus its efforts from January to June 2026 on the following compliance priorities. By sharing these priorities, the Regulator seeks to help industry and the community understand what the Regulator will be looking at, so they can take action to manage any risks.

Even though we highlight certain focus areas, we’ll still carry out our usual compliance checks and may change our focus if new issues come up.

The Regulator’s goals are to:

  • keep the mining, quarrying, and petroleum industries in NSW safe, sustainable, and forward-thinking
  • provide clear advice on safety, environmental, and other rules to help protect workers, communities, and the environment
  • build trust in how the industry is regulated
  • make it easy for the public to understand and get involved in the regulatory process
  • work with industry and the community to share best practices
  • help industry meet its legal responsibilities.

Identification of compliance priorities are guided by consideration of compliance performance and trends in industry utilising risk-based analysis in accordance with our compliance and enforcement approach.

The NSW Resources Regulator's compliance and enforcement approach is designed to ensure a consistent and responsive regulatory approach, providing increased transparency and community confidence in relation to regulatory activities.

Mine safety compliance priorities

Tailings dam

The Regulator seeks to strengthen tailings management practices across the state and reduce the risk of a catastrophic failure in NSW. Three tailings failures have occurred internationally in the 12 months to November 2024, highlighting the risk of catastrophic tailings failure remains credible and relevant to operations in New South Wales.

As part of the planned inspection activities, the Regulator will review critical controls associated with dam wall integrity at these suspended facilities with a focus on:

  • principal hazard management plans (PHMPs)
  • dam break studies
  • failure mode analyses
  • the installation, maintenance, and effectiveness of monitoring systems.

Entanglement in quarries 

The Regulator will conduct targeted assessment activities for Tier 2 quarries focusing on guarding and the risk of entanglement with rotating equipment on fixed and mobile crushing and screening plants. 

Between July 2024 and June 2025, a priority program plan was completed, focusing on principal hazard management plans and principal control plans. During this program plan, more than 800 notices were issued. Many of the notices focused on the mechanical engineering control plan (MECP) and issues with guarding on fixed and mobile plants. During this same period, there were 4 dangerous incidents reported to the Regulator that related directly to the MECP. 

Compliance with PHMP and PCPs in quarries 

The Regulator will conduct targeted assessment activities for Tier 2 quarries focusing on the inspection programs that are in place to ensure the controls from PHMPs and PCPs are in place and effective to maintain the health and safety of workers. This program plan will allow inspectors to verify that workers are aware of the controls and have been trained to maintain them.

Mine safety assessment programs

Coal

  • Air quality or dust or other airborne contaminants – surface and underground – exposure to dust
  • Fire or explosion – underground – explosion suppression
  • Fire or explosion – underground – low powered storage devices
  • Fire or explosion – surface and underground – fire on mobile plant
  • Gas outburst – underground – gas outburst, coal outburst and rock burst
  • Ground or strata failure underground – uncontrolled movement of ground inundation or inrush – underground – inrush of material or substance
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – surface and underground – structural collapse
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – surface and underground – rotating or moving equipment
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – surface and underground – person falling
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – surface and underground – uncontrolled release of energy (spring or fluid under pressure)
  • Statutory functions – training and apprentices
  • Ventilation – underground – exposure to irrespirable atmospheres

Metalliferous and petroleum

  • Electrical engineering control plan – surface and underground – uncontrolled release of electrical energy
  • Fire or explosion – surface and underground – uncontrolled fire or explosion on mobile plant
  • Fire or explosion – underground – uncontrolled gas or dust explosion
  • Ground or strata failure – surface – uncontrolled movement of ground
  • Inundation or inrush of a substance – underground – inrush of material or substance
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – surface and underground – uncontrolled release of energy, including spring energy or fluid under pressure
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – surface and underground – person falling
  • Mechanical engineering control plan – tier 1 and tier 2 quarries – unintended interaction with rotating or moving equipment
  • Psychosocial – exposure to psychosocial harm
  • Statutory positions – statutory position review and duties of officers
  • Statutory functions – training and apprentices
  • Tourist mines – annual inspections
  • Ventilation control plan – underground – exposure to irrespirable atmospheres

Small mines

  • Safety management systems – tier 2 quarries
  • Safety management systems – tier 3 quarries
  • Mechanical engineering control plan tier 2 quarries – Unintended interaction with rotating or moving equipment

Engineering

  • Coal mines – explosive control plans – manufacturing, transport and storage of explosives
  • Metex – explosives manufacturing and transport
  • Shotfiring – certificate of competencies targeted assessment program – unintended detonation of explosives
  • Well integrity control plans
  • High Risk Activity (HRA) verifications
  • Licensed facility assessments
  • Subsidence – sites where the public are at risk, sites where mine design is the primary control
  • Compliance priority program – Coal and METEX Tailings storage facilities – suspended mines

Emergency management

  • Emergency management – Coal underground – Second means of egress
  • Emergency management – METEX surface – emergency planning
  • Hazardous chemical – manifest assessments. 

Opal mining compliance

The Regulator will work to ensure there is safe and sustainable opal mining practices as well as assisting our stakeholders with the implementation of the NSW Governments response to the Independent Review into Small Scale Titles as that rolls out. 

Site inspections will focus on, but not be limited to:

  • Persons riding hoists
  • Working in and around shafts
  • Puddling tank operations
  • Topsoil and mullock management
  • Rehabilitation of expired and cancelled mineral claims
  • Open cut and restricted operations (trenching)

Mining Act compliance priorities

Rehabilitation Cost Estimate (RCE) Tool for explorers

Following extensive industry consultation, the NSW Resources Regulator released the new RCE tool to mines on 31 October 2025, supported by webinars, how to videos and supporting website content. 

This next phase is to transition exploration licences and assessment leases (prospecting titles) onto the new tool and rates by 30 June 2026. Industry consultation and user testing will be undertaken January to June 2026. 

The updated RCE tool for mines and explorers will mean:

  • the securities collected will more accurately reflect the real cost of rehabilitation and reduce the State’s liability.
  • improved functionality and transparency for users, allowing operators to see how rates are derived.
  • accessible and accurate rehabilitation data to support better decision-making around post mining land use, rehabilitation and planning for the future.
  • the Resources Regulator can better estimate the full cost to decommission and rehabilitate the mine site. 

Suspension of mining operations compliance 

Mining lease holders are required to carry out the timely and responsible development of the resource and ensure that rehabilitation, environmental monitoring and maintenance activities are managed under the conditions of the lease.

The NSW Resources Regulator commenced a 12-month compliance project on 1 July 2025 to identify mines that hold current titles that may be longer operating. 

The first phase identified sites through data and inspections with letters issued to confirm their statuses (completed December 2025). Phase 2 will validate the responses before the decisions are made (January – July 2026).

At the same time, NSW Resources is developing regulatory amendments to strengthen the legislative framework. 

Delivery of NSW Audit Office Recommendations

In late 2024/early 2025, the Audit Office conducted a performance audit to assess the effectiveness of the Department’s regulation of rehabilitation of large mines under the Mining Act 1992. The final report was tabled in Parliament on 25 June 2025. 

The report made four recommendations for improvement to be implemented by June 2026. The recommendations have been developed into four workstreams.

Objectives of the workstreams: 

  • Workstream 1 – to develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan to measure the outcomes of the regulatory program for mine rehabilitation in NSW.
  • Workstream 2 – to address the gaps in the data framework.
  • Workstream 3 – to develop and report publicly on key rehabilitation performance indicators and targets.
  • Workstream 4 – to enhance governance and regulation for mine rehabilitation, including by ensuring planning documents consider emerging risks.

NSW Resources is committed to delivering the recommendations by June 2026.

Mining Act assessment programs

Planned inspection programs (PIPs) 

Key focus areas for the PIPs are:

  • progressive rehabilitation
  • rehabilitation is occurring ‘as soon as reasonably practicable
  • assessable prospecting operations
  • compliance with notices and directions.

Targeted assessment programs (TAPs) 

Key focus areas for the TAPs are: 

  • revegetation
  • landform establishment
  • surface and groundwater
  • material and soil management
  • tailings storage facilities management
  • decommissioning.

Compliance audit programs (CAPs) 

Audits will focus on the continuation of the following programs from 2025:

  • full exploration licence compliance audit – site inspections (continuation of 2025 program)
  • exploration audit program (risk assessment) – desktop audits (continuation of 2025 program)
  • mine audit program (full mine compliance audit) – site inspections – continuation 2025 program.

Commence new audit programs for: 

  • review of explorer’s compliance with work programs – desktop audit – will consider exploration licences where there are no APOs or known exploration/drilling activities on site. Program will focus on licences where we hold the minimum security, and the title has been in place for a few years (i.e. 4+), to possibly identify explorers that are land banking and not using the authorisation in good faith, or are potentially looking to ramp up activities in the future
  • exploration on mine sites – site inspections – the program will focus on drilling activities on mine sites and environmental management requirements. It will consider the mine’s Development Consent or any Assessable Prospecting Operations (APO) approvals and compliance with the Code of Practice: Environmental Management.