New Guidance Material for Small Business Officers Released

Safe Work Australia has released guidance material to help small business owners or operators understand their role as officers and their responsibilities under WHS laws.

The guidance was produced after SWA investigations found that small businesses needed more practical guidance about their WHS obligations.

“If you make or influence the significant financial or operational decisions for a business then you may be an ‘officer’ under WHS laws”, said Safe Work Australia’s Chief Executive Officer Michelle Baxter.

“As an officer, you have a duty under WHS laws to look for ways to lead on WHS matters.”

“Our new guidance material includes videos of real officers explaining how they fulfil this important role within their business.”

Small businesses have regularly found themselves overespresernted in injury and illness statistics. Major international studies looking at WHS outcomes in SMEs consistently find that the safety performance of SMEs is significantly poorer when compared with larger firms ¹.

The full guidance material, which includes other short videos, is available here.