SSE Notice Queensland (Coal): Requirements and the Law Exam

A Queensland coal mine operator must appoint a site senior executive (SSE) for the mine (Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999, s 41(1)(d)), and must not appoint anyone who does not hold an SSE notice and a practising certificate from the Board of Examiners (s 54(4)). For the notice, RSHQ's checklists ask for 5 years at a coal mine with 2 of them supervising and two units of competency; once the Board approves your application to progress, you sit the Board of Examiners legislation exam. SSE notice applicants have no oral. This guide sets out each step and what the law exam expects an SSE to know.

ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) or the Board of Examiners, and our practice questions are written by us, not taken from any Board of Examiners exam.

RSHQ Board of Examiners SSE checklists, Coal mining competencies (updated 26 May 2026), Examinations (28 Oct 2026) and Certificates of competency (29 Oct 2026), read 31 Oct 2026.

The Act gives the site senior executive a set of duties of its own. Section 42 sets out the obligations of the SSE. Section 55 makes the SSE develop, maintain and document the management structure for the mine, including the responsibilities and competencies for senior and supervisory positions. Section 62 requires a safety and health management system. Under Part 4 the SSE also appoints the supervisors (s 56) and, at a surface mine, the open-cut examiner for each surface excavation (s 59). After a serious accident, Part 11 requires notice and preservation of the site (ss 198–201).

Because the role carries those duties, section 54 limits who can hold it. A coal mine operator must not appoint more than one SSE for the mine, or for the separate part of a surface mine for which it is the operator (s 54(1)), or appoint one person as SSE for more than one mine (s 54(2)), except for the cases in s 54(3), such as mines that are part of one mining project. Section 54(4) requires the SSE notice and practising certificate for both underground and surface mines, and s 54(5) requires the SSE to be an employee of the operator, an associated entity, or an entity that employs or engages 80% or more of the mine's coal mine workers, except where the only operations are exploration activities under an exploration permit, mineral development licence or mining lease (s 54(6)). An acting SSE needs the same notice and practising certificate (s 57(4)), has all the obligations of an SSE (s 57(9)) and, apart from the exceptions in s 57(7) and (8), can act for no more than 12 weeks from the day the appointed SSE vacated office or was first absent (s 57(6)).

Source: Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld), current as at 1 July 2026, ss 54 and 57. These duties fall on the coal mine operator, which makes the appointment.

The chart compares the maximum penalties for these appointment offences only. The supervisor and open-cut examiner appointments (ss 56 and 59(1)) are the SSE's own duties, so they belong on your reading list as well.

RSHQ publishes one checklist for surface coal mines and one for underground coal mines. They differ in the kind of mining work that counts, and broadly follow the competency the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee recognises for SSEs (RSHQ's coal mining competencies, row 9, required from 13 March 2023), which also requires a pass in a statutory legislation exam administered by the Board. The competency list is a little wider than the checklists on the units, as explained below the table.

Sources: RSHQ Board of Examiners application checklists, Site Senior Executive (surface coal mines) and (underground coal mines); RSHQ, Coal mining competencies, row 9. The checklists name RIIRIS601 and RIIWHS601; the competency list names RIIRIS601E (or equivalent) or MINE7033 or GMIRM, and RIIWHS601E (or equivalent) or MINE7041.

The competency list adds one point the checklists do not spell out: the RIIWHS601E unit (or equivalent, or MINE7041) is required of the SSE or a person named in a senior position under section 55. Ask the Board which one you are relying on if you do not hold the unit yourself.

If you do not pass, the written resit rules apply. After a first unsuccessful attempt with a result above 30% but below 70%, you can sit again 3 months from the exam result notification. A result of 30% or less is treated as a second unsuccessful attempt: you send the Board a written report of the study you have done, with dates and topics, and if it approves, you can sit again 3 months from its decision.

RSHQ says questions cover the legislation relevant to the position plus general health and safety topics. This reading list is ours, built from the sections that name the site senior executive.

Source: Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (current as at 1 July 2026) and Regulation 2017 (current as at 1 September 2026), table of contents and sections named. Our selection, not an official syllabus.

The SSE notice alone does not let you take the job. Section 54(4) requires the practising certificate the Board requires for holders of that notice, and RSHQ says registration in the Board of Examiners' Practising Certificate Scheme has been mandatory since 10 June 2025 for competency and notice holders working in statutory positions. Chapter 4A of the Regulation deals with continuing professional development.