Drug tests at Qld mine withstand challenge

A urine drug testing regime that's increased detection rates five-fold at a Queensland mine has withstood a legal challenge from the CFMEU.

The union had tried to argue that most workers at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Goonyella Riverside Mine disagreed with assessment criteria for drug testing because some didn't vote.

"In other words, a failure to agree is the same as a positive act signalling disagreement. I do not accept that," Supreme Court Justice Glenn Martin said in his judgment, delivered on Monday.