Safe Work Australia RIS on Engineered stone August 2023 | Page 9

Table 1 Comparison of the estimated cost for prohibition options over the appraisal period ($ m ), by component

Option 1 – complete prohibition

Option 2 – prohibition ≥ 40 % crystalline silica

Option 3 – prohibition ≥ 40 % + licence for < 40 %.

Cost to PCBUs

Cost to government

Cost to workers

Sub total ( component )

$ 133.0 $ 6.9 $ 133.0 $ 0 $ 133.0 $ 4.2

$ 107.5 $ 0.7 $ 107.5 $ 0 $ 107.5 $ 3.6

n / a $ 3.1 n / a $ 0 n / a $ 1.5

$ 240.5 $ 10.6 $ 240.5 $ 0 $ 240.5 $ 9.3

Total $ 251.1 $ 240.5 $ 249.7

% Total option costs

96 % 4 % 100 % 0 % 96 % 4 %

Breakeven analysis

Breakeven analysis estimates the number of silicosis cases which would need to be averted by each prohibition option to offset the costs of the option . It does not measure the relative benefits of each option . The breakeven point was determined by dividing the net present cost over the appraisal period by the $ 4.9 million expected value of a life saved and illness avoided for silicosis . In total , depending on the option either 49 or 51 cases would need to be averted for the measures to offset the costs . The small difference in number of cases that would need to be averted between the options is because each option has a common licensing framework for work with legacy products , which is either 100 % ( Option 2 ) or 96 % ( Options 1 and 3 ) of the total cost .

Table 2 Estimated breakeven analysis results over appraisal period

Option Total cost ($ m )

Estimated number of cases prevented required to breakeven over the period – total

Option 1 $ 251.1 51 Option 2 $ 240.5 49 Option 3 $ 249.7 51

Benefits

Removing engineered stone as a source of RCS from the Australian market is expected to lead to a range of long-term benefits including reduced illness and death , increase quality of life for workers , and

DECISION REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT Prohibition on the use of engineered stone Page 8 of 107