Recognised Standard 22 (RS22)

Queensland coal mine sites are required to be compliant with Recognised Standard 22 (RS22) - Management Structure for the development and implementation of the Safety and Health Management System.

The intent of RS22 is that:

  1. SSEs are required to develop a Management Structure for the development and implementation of the Safety and Health Management System (SHMS) for their mine.

  2. SSEs have the obligation to determine the competency requirements of positions delegated responsibility under the SHMS and to document those competencies in their Management Structure to ensure operations are at an acceptable level of risk.

  3. The competency requirements must be relevant to the risks at the mine and ensure the development and implementation of the mines’ SHMS; and

  4. The absence of a competency prescribed by the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee (CMSHAC) or the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulations 2017 does not mean that no competency is required. The determination of responsibilities and competencies for the safety of persons at the mine are the obligation for the SSE of the mine.

Jarah Corporate has been instrumental in helping numerous Queensland coal mines in developing strategies to ensure practicable and sustainable compliance to RS22 and the management of risk on site, which has included:

  • Baseline audits of the mines Management Structure and affiliated documents against RS22.

  • Revision of the sites’ Broadbrush Risk Assessment (BBRA) to identify Principal Hazards, Fatal Risks and Significant Health & Hygiene Hazards (deemed Material Unwanted Events).

  • Clarification of the control elements within the SHMS that require establishment, implementation and monitoring.

  • Development of Risk & Responsibility matrices - aligned to the ICMM guidelines, BBRA and RS22 competency requirements.

  • Determining competencies aligned with the Australia Qualification Framework (AQF) and utilisation of (primarily) the RII units of competency for roles listed in the Management Structure by function and risk responsibility.

  • Training of Management Structure members in the BBRA, PHMPs, Critical Control Verifications and RS22 requirements.

  • Alignment to s.55 Management Structure (CMSH Act) to RS22.

  • Redrafting of appointment processes, letters of appointment, Training Schemes, TNA’s, PHMPs and other SHMS content.

  • Profiling individual incumbent personnel holding roles within the Management Structure affected by RS22 requirements.

  • Development of training plans to close identified gaps.

  • Providing Verification of Competency (VoC) tools and processes to meet those requirements that are not practicably able to be met by an RTO to close gaps in training requirements; and

  • Provision of ongoing support through the use of bespoke software “MyCompetencyExpert™”.

Understanding the requirements of mines to track and document numerous pieces of information, Jarah Corporate, in conjunction with other industry leading professionals has developed unique and bespoke software solution - My Competency Expert (MCE)TM. Since its establishment as a purpose-built solution, MCE has developed into a holistic management tool for the role-based risk competencies for the entire resources and major projects sectors to assist executives to fulfil their Safety Health and Management System (SHMS) obligations. Jarah is proud to be a distributor of MCE. 

For more information about MCE, please visit www.mycomptency.expert or contact us.

At the 34th Queensland Mining Industry Safety & Health Conference, Anthony Beasley, along with Steve Amor, presented ‘A practicable risk-based approach to RS22 implementation and ongoing compliance’. For more information, please go to the Events page for a copy of the presentation and the abstract paper that was prepared for the Queensland Mining Industry Safety & Health committee.