Commercial garden soil regulation review

Overview

The key focus of this review is to obtain feedback on the most effective option for managing the public health risk associated with commercial packaged and bulk garden soils in Western Australia.

Commercial garden soils which include packaged potting mixes and bulk soil supplies have been associated with a number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease in WA, as a result of exposure to the bacteria Legionella longbeachae. This public health risk is currently managed under the Health (Garden Soil) Regulations 1998 (Garden Soils Regulations), which requires warning labels to be included on packaged materials or for signage to be displayed in prominent locations at bulk soil suppliers.

The Garden Soil Regulation Review Discussion Paper (PDF 4MB) reviews the management of this public health risk to determine the best option for WA in the future.

It is important that you read the discussion paper prior to completing the survey. 

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

You do not have to comment on all the questions, and can focus on those areas that are important to you.  

You can read the survey questions here prior to completing the online survey. 

Why your views matter

In the lead up to stage 5 of implementation of the Public Health Act 2016 in WA, WA Health must review the Garden Soil Regulations to determine whether this public health risk must continue to be regulated under the framework provided by the Public Health Act, or whether the risks can be effectively managed through an alternative approach such as other State legislation, a guideline or a local law.

The paper identified two options for consideration for WA:

Option A: Enable the industry to self-regulate by providing an industry guideline. 

Option B: Develop new regulations to manage public health risks associated with garden soils

You also have the opportunity to provide feedback on alterrnative options that may not have been considered as part of this review. 

What happens next

After analysis of all submissions, a determination of which option to adopt, will be made.

Feedback from this review will also be submitted to the WA Better Regulation Unit, to support the preferred option.   

Stakeholders will be emailed a summary paper. 

Please email publichealthact@health.wa.gov.au if you have any queries.