New South Wales

Victoria

Western Australia

South Australia

Tasmania

Northern Territory

Australian Capital Territory

C’wealth¹

New Zealand

Cancer caused by the following agents

Asbestos

Asbestos induced carcinoma²

Asbestosis²

Asbestos related pleural diseases²

Mesothelioma²

(Schedule 1 of the Workers’ Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942)

Asbestosis, with or without mesothelioma

Mesothelioma

Lung cancer

Diffuse pleural fibrosis

Asbestosis (any work involving exposure to inhalation of asbestos fibres)

Primary malignant neoplasm of the mesothelium (diffuse mesothelioma) of the pleura or of the peritoneum

Note — Diseases caused by occupational exposure to asbestos are covered by the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011 from 31 Oct 2011

Malignancy:

Larynx

Lung

Mesothelioma

Ovary

Asbestosis - mesothelioma - employment involving exposure to asbestos

Lung cancer - employment involving exposure to arsenic, asbestos, beryllium, bis(chloromethyl)ether, cadmium, chromium VI, diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, ionizing radiation, nickel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Radon-222 and its decay products, silica dust (crystalline) or soot (chimney sweeping)

Ovary cancer - employment involving exposure to asbestos

Larynx - employment involving exposure to strong inorganic acid mist or asbestos

Employment for at least 5 years (whether consecutive or not) involving work with: a) asbestos; or

b) asbestos-containing material.

Lung cancer or mesothelioma diagnosed as caused by asbestos

Beta-naphthylamine

—

—

—

—

Bladder cancer (2-naphthylamine)

Malignancy – Bladder - all work involving 2-naphthylamine

Bladder employment involving exposure to 2-naphthylamine, benzidine, cyclophosphamide, ionizing radiation, ortho-toluidine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with aluminium production

—

Bladder cancer diagnosed as caused by 2-naphthylamine, benzidine, 4-aminobiphenyl, N,N-Bis (2-chloroethyl)-2-naphthylamine, other aromatic amines, or poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Bis chloromethyl ether (BCME)

—

—

—

—

Lung cancer

Malignancy - Lung (bis chloromethyl)

Lung Cancer employment involving exposure to arsenic, asbestos, beryllium, bis(chloromethyl)ether, cadmium, chromium VI, diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, ionizing radiation, nickel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Radon-222 and its decay products, silica dust (crystalline) or soot (chimney sweeping)

—

Lung cancer diagnosed as caused by bis (chloromethyl) ether (and chloromethyl methyl ether), cadmium, coke oven emissions, nickel, radon, silica or soot

Coal tars, coal tar pitches or soots

—

—

—

—

Lung cancer and skin cancer (non-melanoma)

Malignancy - Lung – all work involving soot (chimney sweeping)

Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis - employment involving exposure to coal

Lung Cancer - employment involving exposure to arsenic, asbestos, beryllium, bis(chloromethyl)ether, cadmium, chromium VI, diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, ionizing radiation, nickel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Radon-222 and its decay products, silica dust (crystalline) or soot (chimney sweeping)

May include coal workers’ pneumoconiosis.

Employment for at least 5 years (whether consecutive or not) involving work with coal.

Lung cancer diagnosed as caused by bis (chloromethyl) ether (and chloromethyl methyl ether), cadmium, coke oven emissions, nickel, radon, silica or soot

Coke oven emissions

—

—

—

—

Lung cancer

Malignancy:

Lung – all work involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Skin (non-melanoma) – all work involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Bladder – all work involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

—

—

Lung cancer diagnosed as caused by bis (chloromethyl) ether (and chloromethyl methyl ether), cadmium, coke oven emissions, nickel, radon, silica or soot

Nickel compounds

—

—

—

—

Lung cancer

Malignancy:

Nasal cavity and para-nasal sinuses – all work involving nickel

Lung – all work involving nickel

Nasal cavity and para-nasal sinuses

Lung cancer - employment involving exposure to arsenic, asbestos, beryllium, bis(chloromethyl)ether, cadmium, chromium VI, diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, ionizing radiation, nickel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Radon-222 and its decay products, silica dust (crystalline) or soot (chimney sweeping)

May include primary malignant disease of the nasal cavity or para-nasal sinuses.

Employment for at least 5 years (whether consecutive or not) involving work with:

1. equipment that produces ionising radiation; or
2. substances that emit ionising radiation; or
3. nickel; or
4. leather; or
5. wood.

Lung cancer diagnosed as caused by bis (chloromethyl) ether (and chloromethyl methyl ether), cadmium, coke oven emissions, nickel, radon, silica or soot

Tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, anthracene, or the compounds, products or residues of these substances

Primary epitheliomatous cancer of the skin (Any process involving the handling or use of tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, paraffin, or the compounds, products or residues of these substances)

(Schedule 1 of the Workers’ Compensation Regulation 2016)

Primary epitheliomatous cancer of the skin (exposure to tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, paraffin or compounds, products, or residues of these substances)

Epitheliomatous cancer or ulceration of skin or the corneal surface of the eye due to tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, paraffin or compounds, products, or residues of those substances

Primary epitheliomatous cancer of the skin due to handling or use of tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, paraffin or compounds, products, or residues of those substances

Lung cancer and skin cancer (non-melanoma)

Malignancy:

Lung – all work involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Skin (non-melanoma) – all work involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Bladder – all work involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

—

—

Primary epitheliomatous cancer of the skin diagnosed as caused by tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, anthracene or the compounds, products, or residues of these substances

Primary epitheliomatous cancer of the skin diagnosed as caused by shale oil

Vinyl chloride

—

—

—

—

Liver cancer

Malignancy - Liver

Liver cancer

May include primary malignant disease of the liver.

Employment for at least 5 years (whether consecutive or not) involving work with vinyl chloride monomer.

Angiosarcoma of the liver diagnosed as caused by vinyl chloride monomer.

Wood dust

—

—

—

Asthma or asthmatic attacks (dust of red pine, western red cedar, blackwood, flour, flour dust)

Nasopharynx cancer and nasal cavity, or paranasal sinuses, cancer,

Malignancy:

Nasal cavity and para-nasal sinuses – all work involving wood dust

Nasopharynx – all work involving wood dust

Nasal cavity and para-nasal sinuses

Nasopharynx

May include primary malignant disease of the nasopharynx, nasal cavity, or para-nasal sinuses.

Employment for at least 5 years (whether consecutive or not) involving work with:

1. formaldehyde; or
2. wood.

Employment for at least 5 years (whether consecutive or not) involving work with:

1. equipment that produces ionising radiation; or
2. substances that emit ionising radiation; or
3. nickel; or
4. leather; or
5. wood.

Sino-nasal carcinoma diagnosed as caused by working with wood dust

Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosed as caused by wood dust

Cancer caused by other agents at work not mentioned in the preceding items

Eligible firefighters diagnosed with 12 specific cancers outlined in Schedule 4 to the 1987 Act, who meet the corresponding minimum qualifying periods of service, are considered to have contracted the cancer in the course of their employment or volunteer service as a firefighter if acquired on or after 27 September 2018.

—

—

Schedule 9 amendment 23 of the Return to Work Act 2014 amended section 31 of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 to remove the qualifying periods applicable to volunteer firefighters with prescribed cancers (Schedule 2A). This amendment applies retrospectively i.e. on or after 1 July 2013

Nasopharynx and nasal cavity for workers exposed to leather dust or nickel Lung cancer exposure to diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, Radon-222 and its decay products

s50A of the Return to Work Act 1986 provides the legal presumption that if an employee has been employed as a firefighter for a certain period before being diagnosed with one of the prescribed cancers in regulation 5B and has been exposed to the hazards of a fire scene during that period, their employment has contributed to a significant degree to the contraction of the disease.

These provisions provide a separate mechanism for firefighters to access compensation under the Act.

Malignancy:

Nasopharynx – formaldehyde

Liver - Hepatitis B virus or Hepatitis C virus exposure related to occupation

Nasal cavity and para-nasal sinuses – leather dust

Larynx – strong inorganic acid mist

Lung – Arsenic, beryllium, bis(chloromethyl)ether, cadmium, chromium VI, diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, Radon-222 and its decay products, silica dust (crystalline)

Skin (melanoma) – solar radiation, polychlorinated biphenyls

Skin (non-melanoma) – solar radiation

Kidney – tricholorethylene

Bladder – naphthylamine, benzidine, cyclophosphamide, ortho-toluidine

Leukaemia (excluding chromic lymphatic leukaemia) – benzene, butadiene, cyclophosphamide, formaldehyde, hepatitis C virus exposure related to occupation

Salivary Gland - employment involving exposure to ionizing radiation

Lung cancer exposure to diesel engine exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, Radon-222 and its decay products

Nasopharynx – formaldehyde

Oesophagus, Stomach, Colon and rectum, Bone, Breast, kidney, brain, thyroid and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma employment involving exposure to ionizing radiation

Liver - employment involving exposure to vinyl chloride monomer, Hepatitis B virus or Hepatitis C virus

Skin (melanoma) - employment involving exposure to solar radiation or polychlorinated biphenyls

Skin (non-melanoma) - employment involving exposure to ionizing radiation, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or solar radiation

Bladder - employment involving exposure to 2-naphthylamine, benzidine, cyclophosphamide, ionizing radiation, ortho-toluidine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with aluminium production

Leukaemia (excluding chronic lymphatic leukaemia) - employment involving exposure to benzene, butadiene, cyclophosphamide, formaldehyde, Hepatitis C virus or ionizing radiation

s7(8) and s7(9) of the SRC 1988 provide the legal presumption that if an employee has been employed as a firefighter for a certain period before being diagnosed with one of the prescribed cancers in s7(8); and has been exposed to the hazards of a fire scene during that period, their employment has contributed to a significant degree to the contraction of the disease

The above provisions provide a separate mechanism for firefighters to access compensation under the SRC Act.

Naso-pharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed as caused by formaldehyde

Laryngeal carcinoma diagnosed as caused by sulphuric acid mists or organic solvents

Lung cancer diagnosed as caused by bis (chloromethyl) ether (and chloromethyl methyl ether), cadmium, coke oven emissions, nickel, radon, silica or soot

Bladder cancer diagnosed as caused by 2-naphthylamine, benzidine, 4-aminobiphenyl, N,N-Bis (2-chloroethyl)-2-naphthylamine, other aromatic amines, or poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Miners’ nystagmus

—

—

—

—

Occupations involving working in or about an active mining area

—

—

—

Legislation and/ or instrument

Workers Compensation Regulation 2016 — Schedule 1

Workers’ Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942 — Schedule 1²

Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 — s51

Victoria Government Gazette No.92 — Friday, 30 August 1985

Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 — Schedule 3

Return to Work Act 2014 — Schedule 2

Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Deemed Diseases) Notice 2017— Schedule 1

Return to Work Act 1986 – s4(6)(a)

Return to Work Regulations 1986 — Schedule 2

Workers Compensation Regulation 2002 — Schedule 1

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 s7(1).

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Specified Diseases and Employment) Instrument 2017

Seafarers’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 s10(1).

Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Specified Diseases and Employment) Instrument 2021

Accident Compensation Act 2001 s30(3), 60 — Schedule 2