Making a notification

From 23 September 2025, as a result of amendments to the Public Health Act 2005 (Qld) and Public Health Regulation 2018, prescribed medical practitioners in Queensland are required to notify all diagnoses of notifiable dust lung disease to the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry.

Under these amendments, the existing definition of 'notifiable dust lung disease' has been replaced with 'notifiable occupational respiratory disease'.

As a prescribed medical practitioner (occupational and environmental medicine and respiratory and sleep medicine specialist), you are required under the Public Health Act to notify the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry when a person is diagnosed with a notifiable occupational respiratory disease.

Workers, their family members or their general practitioner are not required to notify the National Registry of a diagnosis of a notifiable occupational respiratory disease.

Notifiable occupational respiratory diseases

A notifiable occupational respiratory disease is a medical condition, prescribed by regulation, that is associated with a person's respiratory system and likely to have been caused or exacerbated, in whole or in part, by the person's work or workplace.

In Queensland, under the Public Health Regulation 2018, a notifiable occupational respiratory disease is any of the following medical conditions likely to have been caused or exacerbated, in whole or in part, by exposure to inorganic dust:

  • pneumoconiosis, including
    • asbestosis
    • coal workers' pneumoconiosis
    • mixed-dust pneumoconiosis.

    Note: silicosis is a prescribed occupational respiratory disease under the Commonwealth Act. This means it is mandatory for prescribed medical practitioners to report silicosis to the National Registry.

  • cancer (e.g. mesothelioma)
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Examples of inorganic dust include dust from silica, coal, asbestos, natural stone, tungsten, cobalt, aluminium and beryllium.

A prescribed medical practitioner must notify the National Registry, even if they have reported the disease to the department in which the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) is administered (i.e. Resources Safety and Health Queensland). Previous exemptions no longer apply.

How to make a notification

Notifications are made via the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry.

For more information about the National Registry, or for technical assistance, you can contact the National Registry:

Time period in which to notify

Notifications to the National Registry must be made within 30 days of a diagnosis.

If you fail to do so without a reasonable excuse, it is an offence under the Public Health Act and a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units may apply.

Informing patients about mandatory reporting

If a patient is diagnosed as having a notifiable occupational respiratory disease caused by occupational exposure to inorganic dust, you should advise the patient of your obligation to notify the National Registry.

Consent

Patient consent is not required to provide minimum notification information about a notifiable occupational respiratory disease to the National Registry. Minimum notification information includes:

  • details about the disease(s)
  • information that identifies the patient and their contact details
  • details on the occupational exposure that caused the disease(s).

Patient consent is required to provide additional notification information. Additional notification information includes:

  • relevant medical test results
  • work history that has contributed to the disease
  • the patient's height, weight, smoking history and their employment status.

Access the patient privacy and consent statement – NORDR.

Contact National Registry

More information

Last updated: 25 September 2025