You may be aware that the standard by which we conduct workplace oral fluid drug testing AS4760 (2006) has recently been updated. The new standard, ASNZS4760 (2019), was released earlier this month and includes some significant changes.
Whilst implementation of the new (2019) standard cannot occur until the relevant confirmation laboratories are NATA accredited to it - and this may be a number of months away yet – we wanted to share with you some of the key changes that the updated standard will bring.
1. The new standard will cover New Zealand as well as Australia. Up until now, AS4760 applied only to Australian workplaces. With the 2019 update, the standard for workplace oral fluid drug testing will apply equally to Australia and New Zealand.
2. The drug classes to be tested increase from 5 to 6, with the inclusion of Oxycodone. Reflecting the significant growth in Oxycodone use and abuse in recent years, the updated oral fluid drug testing standard includes Oxycodone as the sixth drug class, along with Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, Opiates, Cannabis and Cocaine.
3. The initial test target concentration for Cannabis (THC) has been revised from 25ng/ml to 15ng/ml. The other current drug classes, Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, Opiates and Cocaine will remain at 50ng/ml and Oxycodone will be 40ng/ml.
Over the past several months, the team at DASA has been developing new procedures and evaluating new technologies to accommodate these changes to ensure all of our customers are compliant with current and future requirements of the standard.
We will continue to update you as developments occur. For any questions about the updated standard, feel free to contact John De Mellow via info@dasa.net.au