Amendments to the model WHS Laws

Original article published by SafeWork Australia

Amendments to the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws have been published:

• model WHS Act and Explanatory Memorandum
• model WHS Regulations and Explanatory Statement

The amendments implement a number of recommendations from the 2018 Review of the model WHS laws.

The amendments do not automatically apply in a jurisdiction. For the model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations to have effect in a jurisdiction they must be enacted in that jurisdiction.

They include amendments to:

• the model WHS Regulations to deal with psychosocial risks (recommendation 2)
• work group provisions (recommendation 7b)
• health and safety representative (HSR) training (recommendation 10)
• remove the 24-hour notice period for entry permit holders (recommendation 15)
• align the process for issuing service of notices to provide clarity and consistency (recommendation 16)
• enable inspectors to require production of documents and answers to questions within 30 days of any inspector’s entry to a workplace (recommendation 17)
• clarify that a WHS regulator’s power to obtain information relevant to investigations of potential breaches of the model WHS laws has extra-territorial application (recommendation 18)
• clarify the circumstances in which WHS regulators can share information between jurisdictions (recommendation 19)
• include gross negligence as a fault element in the Category 1 offence (recommendation 23a)
• improve regulator accountability for investigation progress (recommendation 24)
• prohibit insurance for WHS penalties (recommendation 26)
• improve record keeping and operator training for amusement devices and passenger ropeways (recommendation 28)
• compliance with Standards not mandatory unless specified (recommendation 31b)
• give effect to recommendations that are minor or technical in nature.

Go to the Implementation of the WHS ministers’ agreed response to the Review of the Model WHS Laws web page for a more detailed overview of the amendments.

For information on WHS laws in your jurisdiction, please contact your WHS regulator.

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