Mine Rescue in Australia: Teams, Training and How People Join

What mine rescue is

Mine rescue means trained people and equipment that can respond to an emergency at a mine. In NSW, Coal Services says Mines Rescue is responsible for making sure rescue services and equipment are available to respond to emergencies or incidents at NSW coal mines. In Queensland, the state government says Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS) has trained rescue personnel to save lives since 1909.

Coal Services also notes that the need to respond to major incidents has become infrequent in NSW coal mining, which is why it says site emergency response teams must stay trained and skilled.

NSW: Coal Services Mines Rescue

Coal Services’ Mines Rescue & Training trains and maintains a brigade of emergency response personnel, works with industry on the emergency simulations and management reviews that mining legislation requires, and provides expert advice when an incident occurs. It says it has almost 100 years’ experience, and that it is also a registered training organisation offering specialist industry courses.

The brigade members page adds these points:

• Under legislation, Mines Rescue sets the number of underground mine workers who must be available for mines rescue, and it says that number is 5% of the workforce, including contractor equivalents.
• Participation in an active operation is voluntary.
• Members must disclose any medical, physical or psychological condition that could affect their capability or their team’s safety.
• Brigades must complete six rounds of intensive training each year.
• Rescue competitions are held annually at each Mines Rescue station.

Queensland: QMRS

The Queensland Government’s 19 April 2022 statement on the new Stewarton station in the Central Highlands says QMRS has trained rescue personnel since 1909. It describes the station as the first new mines rescue station built in Queensland in the last 40 years, on 52 acres on the Capricorn Highway, with a vertical rope rescue training tower, a simulated mine and four-storey confined space training.

Anglo American’s 16 January 2025 release about a planned Moranbah training centre gives more detail on QMRS:

• QMRS has 450 volunteer underground team members and 50 volunteer mine inertisation unit members, who must maintain their skills every two months.
• The Moranbah site, on land leased to QMRS, is planned to largely replicate QMRS’s bespoke centre at Boonal and to expand surface and underground mines rescue training.
• It says legislation requires 5% of a mine site’s workforce to be trained by an accredited corporation, which QMRS is.
• Its other stations include Boonal, 8 km outside Blackwater, and Dysart.

The release was an announcement of plans, so check QMRS for what has been built since. Station details in the 2022 and 2025 sources also differ, so we do not give a current station count.

Skills the sources mention

We did not find a single official syllabus. These are the skills that appear across the competition reports, facility descriptions and station pages we read. For related tickets we cover, see first aid and confined space. Whether a given ticket counts toward a rescue team is up to the team, so ask.

Competitions

Coal Services says its competitions give brigade members high-pressure scenarios to practise lifesaving skills and test quick thinking, with feedback from technical experts. Its calendar page lists these events, without stating a year:

NSW example: Newcastle, May 2024

Coal Services’ report on the Newcastle competition says brigades worked through simulated incidents underground and on the surface at the Abel Mine on 24 May 2024, tested on search and rescue, first aid and firefighting. Teams were assembled on the day, so some members may not have worked together before. It says the event is the first in a series of regional competitions, and that winning teams are invited to the Australian competition later in the year.

National example: Moranbah, October 2025

The Coalface reported that QMRS and NSW Mines Rescue hosted the 61st Australian Underground Mines Rescue Competition at BMA’s Broadmeadow Mine in Moranbah on 23 October. Eight teams took part, four from NSW and four from Queensland. Assessors tested firefighting, search and rescue, first aid, hazard awareness and team management. Moranbah North placed first, Grosvenor second and Kestrel third, and the report says Moranbah North will represent Australia at the International Mines Rescue Competition in Zambia in 2026.

Western Australia: 2017

A 27 November 2017 Western Australian Government statement says 15 Western Australian teams competed in the Mining Emergency Response Competition in real-life style scenarios, including firefighting, road crashes, rope and confined-space rescues, and hazardous materials. We could not read a current Western Australian source, so check with your employer for how emergency response teams work there now.

Who can join and how to ask

The sources we read do not list entry requirements, fees or how long you must commit. What they do say is that NSW participation is voluntary, that members must disclose conditions that could affect capability or team safety, and that Queensland describes its team members as volunteers who keep their skills current. Coal Services also mentions a recruitment page for its brigade, which we could not read, so contact them or your station directly.

Questions worth asking your site or employer:

• Does this site have an emergency response team, and is it run through a state rescue organisation?
• How are members chosen, and is there a waiting list?
• Is training done on paid time, on rostered days off, or at the rescue station?
• What medical checks apply, and who pays for any training?

Mine rescue and your career

We found no source that ties mine rescue to hiring or promotion. If you are still working out how to start in the industry, read how to get into mining first, then browse the mining companies directory and FIFO jobs. Unfamiliar terms are in the mining glossary.

What we could not confirm

• Current arrangements in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
• Metal and open cut mine rescue outside the coal examples above.
• Entry requirements, costs, time commitment and pay for joining a team.
• Qualifications used in a rescue team, beyond the skills named in the sources.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Last updated 10 October 2026. Facts on this page come from the sources below.

• Coal Services: Mines Rescue & Training (read 10 October 2026)
• Coal Services: Mines Rescue Brigade Members (read 10 October 2026)
• Coal Services: Rescue Competitions (read 10 October 2026)
• Coal Services: Newcastle Mines Rescue competition tests core skills (read 10 October 2026)
• Queensland Government: Ministerial statement on the new Queensland Mines Rescue Service station, 19 April 2022 (read 10 October 2026)
• Anglo American: New cutting-edge training centre to fortify mines rescue capabilities, 16 January 2025 (read 10 October 2026)
• The Coalface: Australia's Top Mines Rescue Teams Go Head to Head, 10 November 2025 (read 10 October 2026)
• Government of Western Australia: McGowan Government congratulates MERC winners, 27 November 2017 (read 10 October 2026)

All sources were read on 10 October 2026. Coal Services and Queensland Mines Rescue Service arrangements, competition dates and team numbers change. The Western Australian source is from 2017. We do not state fees, course lengths, pay or eligibility rules, because the sources we read do not give them. Confirm current details with your employer or the rescue organisation in your state.