The new requirement states site senior executives (SSE) under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act must demonstrate to the board of examiners their knowledge of the current Queensland coal mining legislation by taking a written exam.

While the obligation to comply with the act has been in place since it was written, the new requirement to be tested has become a hot topic in the Queensland coal industry, according to The Safety Managers’ Mark Parcell.

“There have been a lot of people that have been out and about for a long time and some have objected to doing an exam. However, some of those who have objected and have now done preparation for the exam see it as a good thing,” he said.

Queensland chief inspector of coal mines and chair of the board of examiners Gavin Taylor agreed that those who had completed the exam were now backing it.

“The reaction overall has been extremely positive and many successful candidates have become strong advocates for this requirement. Practicing SSEs appreciate the requirement for this competency and feedback from persons providing training in legislation for potential candidates has been extremely encouraging,” he said.

But while some SSEs have completed the exam, there are still plenty that haven’t and time is running out fast. The requirement became effective on March 31 this year with a moratorium until November 30.

Taylor said to date, nine current SSEs had sat for the exam and six had been successful. A total of 17 candidates have passed the exam to date.

Queensland has 59 operational coal mines with 53 SSEs in the state, excluding exploration sites. Taylor said five SSEs were exempt from the examination because they already had a competency in current Queensland legislation and a number of executives were exempt until May 2010.

The board of examiners estimated about 37 people must still qualify in the next 11 weeks.

Taylor said some 60 candidates had registered to sit the exam this week in several centres across the state.

The three-hour closed-book, six-part exam covers the preliminary section of the act, control and management of risk, provisions about the operations of coal mines, site safety health representative and industry safety health representative, inspectors and inspection officers, and miscellaneous parts of the act, in addition to Chapter 2 parts 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation.

To pass, a score of 70% in each section of the exam must be reached.

Why introduce the exam in the first place? Taylor said during a time of rapid resource development, the Queensland Mines Inspectorate became aware several people holding the position of SSE had little or no understanding of the requirements of Queensland coal mining legislation.

The issue was referred to the Coal Mining Safety Health and Advisory Council, which unanimously decided that people must hold a competency in Queensland coal mining legislation before being appointed an SSE. The board of examiners was charged with the administration of the process.

“The SSE has the paramount legislative responsibility at a coal mine to ensure the fundamental framework which underpins the achievement of an acceptable level of risk as defined and specified by the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2001,” Taylor said.

“The SSE has responsibility for the safety and health management system, training of coal mine workers, ensuring the competency of coal mine workers, the assessment of risk and controls, the formulation of standard operating procedures, notifications to the Mines Inspectorate and numerous other safety and health matters that protect coal mine workers employed at the site.

“With SSEs now guaranteed to have knowledge of the legislation, they will be better equipped to ensure the safety and health of mine workers by compliance with the appropriate legislation.”

As it takes one month to issue the certification, SSEs must sit the exam by the end of this month unless they have passed a written exam under current legislation for a statutory certificate of competency, or have a certificate of competency issued under the previous legislation which will give them exemption until May next year.

The exam is for all coal open cut, underground and exploration SSEs.

Taylor said while most underground coal SSEs also held First Class Mine Manager's certificates of competency, it had not been mandatory for them to have any qualification in legislation until now.

Each underground coal mine must also have appointed an underground mine manager and that person must have a First Class Mine Manager's certificate of competency. That qualification requires a more extensive knowledge of legislation than that required of an SSE.

A First Class candidate must pass an extensive oral exam by a panel of three peers on their knowledge of mining practice, including safety and health.

The oral exam is not a regulation. It is a requirement of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Council, which has the power to determine "competencies accepted by it as qualifying a person to perform tasks prescribed under a regulation" and "the safety and health competencies required to perform the duties of a person under the act”