Tougher workplace drug testing methods received backing by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), when it ruled in favour of combined urine and saliva sampling. 
In arbitration between a coal export company and a union, FWC supported the company’s proposal for random drug testing, using either the oral fluid or urine sampling method.  

The FWC said that it is ultimately a “choice between private lives or saving lives” when determining the most appropriate workplace drug testing method. In this decision, FWC opted for “saving lives,” arguing the lapse of time between consuming and detecting the drug is irrelevant if such consumption creates a recognised risk to the safety of an employee and others in the workplace.

The FWC also stated that workplace drug testing regimes are inherently intrusive as they “almost always involve the potential for detection of drug use which occurs in a person’s private life.” 

Although there is an ongoing debate over which workplace drug testing method is best, employers can be comforted by the FWC most recent decision on the matter.  

The decision highlights the FWC’s view that the private use of illicit substances takes a backseat to workplace safety standards; once these standards are set, they must be upheld regardless of what employees do in their private time.

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