Table 18 Size of engineered stone PCBUs by employee size
Business size Proportion of total businesses
Sole trader |
44 % |
Small ( 1 – 20 employees ) |
42 % |
Medium ( 21 – 200 employees ) |
14 % |
Total |
100 % |
B . 3.3 Staff numbers
Research undertaken by Australian Engineered Stone Advisory Group estimates that there are between 8,000 and 10,000 people working with engineered stone in Australia ( ASEAG , 2019 ).
Table 19 Average number of employees by business type 48
Business size
Average number of workers
Sole trader 1 Small ( 1 – 20 employees ) 5 Medium ( 21 – 200 employees ) 44
B . 3.4 Proportion of engineered stone PBCUs that also work with natural stone
The number of PCBUs working with engineered stone has increased as the material has become more popular among home renovators and developers – engineered stone currently occupies about 55 % of the Australian market by volume 49 . Data received through the consultation to inform this Decision RIS indicated that 95 % of engineered stone PCBUs work with both natural stone and engineered stone .
B . 3.5 Proportion of business activity by crystalline silica content
Option 2 and 3 would seek to prohibit work with engineered stone containing 40 % or more crystalline silica content . The impacts of these options are dependent on the availability of engineered stone with less than 40 % crystalline silica content .
Research indicates that there is already a sizeable market of engineered stone with less than 40 % crystalline silica content in Australia . An estimated 40 % of business activity among engineered stone PCBUs is currently engineered stone with less than 40 % crystalline silica content .
Moreover , the industry is increasingly offering lower silica engineered stone products , for example : �
Smartstone has launched a new product range , the Ibrido Collection , with 28 % silica content . It is planning to replace its entire range by mid-2023 ( Smartstone , 2023 ) 50
48
Submissions from individual respondents to the consultation to inform the Prohibition Decision RIS ; SafeWork NSW and Worksafe Victoria submissions
49
Caesarstone submission
50
Smartstone submission
DECISION REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT Prohibition on the use of engineered stone Page 74 of 107