GISTM Tailings Dam Inspection Requirements in Australia

The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) was published in 2020 following the catastrophic Brumadinho dam failure in Brazil that killed 270 people. Australian mining companies that are members of ICMM committed to conformance with GISTM by August 2025.

GISTM requires a fundamentally different approach to tailings facility management. It mandates independent review, consequence classification, and continuous monitoring, not just periodic inspections. For inspectors, this means documentation requirements are significantly more rigorous than pre-GISTM practice.

Key inspection requirements under GISTM include: consequence classification assessment (extreme, very high, high, significant, low), performance objectives and criteria for each facility, annual performance reviews by the Engineer of Record (EoR), independent technical review at prescribed intervals, and an updated knowledge base that captures all inspection observations, monitoring data, and design changes.

Australian implementation varies by state. Western Australia's DMIRS has adopted GISTM principles into its Code of Practice for Tailings Storage Facilities. Queensland's Resources Safety and Health Act requires tailings dams to be managed under a principal hazard management plan. New South Wales requires dam safety management plans under the Mining Act.

Digital inspection tools that capture GPS-verified evidence, link observations to specific dam locations, and generate structured reports aligned to GISTM requirements are increasingly expected by regulators and independent reviewers. InspectAndGo ships a GISTM-aligned tailings facility template that covers surveillance walkovers, EoR sign-off fields, and consequence classification documentation.