Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Palmer’s refusal to fund such exit medical checks put both the health and the rights of recovery of the 729 retrenched workers at risk.

“By the very nature of their work they have been exposed to a range of industrial processes that may include exposure to harmful chemicals, so it’s vital that they get their exit medicals,” she said.

Queensland Health and Ambulance Services Minister Cameron Dick said this was an exceptional case.

He said the refinery was a large industrial facility that had been a major employer in Townsville and the health risks were unknown.

“The tailings dam that is on site contains dangerous material such as ammonia and other waste that could be dangerous to the environment but we need to establish if they could be putting human health at risk as well,” Dick said.

He said Queensland Health would provide logistical and procurement support for the medicals through its Townsville Hospital and Health Service.

“The circumstances the QNI employees find themselves in is very unfortunate and although provision of exit medicals is not a current Queensland Health function, we are well placed to arrange and pay for exit medicals for these vulnerable workers,” he said.

Last month creditors voted to liquidate Queensland Nickel, which owed its workers $74 million.

The bulk of that money will be covered by the federal government’s Fair Entitlement Grants Scheme.