Lead exposure and blood lead content remain issues in Broken Hill. Photo: NSW Government.
The NSW Labor Government has committed a record $37.3 million towards strengthening its response to lead contamination in the mining town of Broken Hill.
The government hopes to protect families and children from the health impacts of lead exposure.
Broken Hill faces some of the most serious problems with lead contamination in the country, with 2025 data showing that 36 per cent of children from one to five and 56 per cent of Aboriginal children in the same age group have lead levels in their blood above national health guidelines.
A four-year funding plan in the 2026-27 NSW Budget will double the number of homes remediated per year, while also supporting ongoing blood lead-level testing for children, particularly Aboriginal youngsters.
“No child should be put at risk from the environment they grow up in,” Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said.
”This funding boost allows us to more than double the number of homes remediated to protect more families.
“We are pivoting to a proactive, targeted and preventative program, designed to reduce lead exposure in children before harm occurs and break the cycle of lead-related disadvantage in Broken Hill.”
Beyond these measures, education will be expanded and considerations of lead exposure will be embedded into paediatric development and other health programs, with a focus on early intervention for at-risk groups.
The funding allocations include:
- $11.5 million for ongoing targeted remediation of homes of children who have been tested with high blood lead levels.
- $12.7 million to develop and implement a zonal remediation program, targeted at homes in known high-risk zones and homes of high-risk families, to reduce contamination before exposure has a chance to occur.
- $2.5 million for continuing outreach with the community, including education and awareness campaigns, expansion of the LeadSmart program and hands-on education sessions at local schools.
- $8.1 million for improved monitoring of emissions from existing mines and other local sources of dust, and for the purchase of new soil and air-monitoring technology to reduce emissions of toxic lead and dust at the source.
The government’s commitments deliver on the recommendations of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer’s report on reducing the health impacts of lead in Broken Hill.
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said: “Community blood-lead levels, particularly in young Aboriginal children, have not improved as quickly as we need them to.
“That’s why we are reshaping how we address this problem, adding more rigour, more funding, more coordination and more on-the-ground resourcing.”
