Regulators Harmonisation Project
Further Information
For further information around general harmonisation, the Act and the regulations and codes of practice. Safe Work Australia is an Australian Government statutory agency, which was established to drive the development and implementation of model WHS legislation.Heads of workplace safety: Regulators Harmonisation Project
The Heads of Workplace Safety Authority (HWSA) is a group comprising of representatives from organisations responsible for the regulation and administration of occupational health and safety in Australia and New Zealand. HWSA’s vision is to promote and implement best practice in occupational health and safety in Australia and New Zealand in the areas of policy and legislative matters, education and enforcement.
In August 2009 HWSA endorsed the Regulators Harmonisation Project (RHP) (formerly the Regulators in Harmony Project) to establish a framework for harmonising workplace health and safety regulators’ approach to administration of the national model WHS legislation.
RHP sub-projects
The RHP has identified specific work stream projects which are represented by each jurisdiction. Various jurisdictions have been nominated to lead the projects and are responsible for managing and coordinating the associated working group.
Comcare is represented on the steering committee and all 27 sub-projects by working group members. Comcare is responsible for managing the infringement notices and presentation working groups. Comcare will also co-lead the working group for evidentiary guides. A summary of the RHP working groups and their respective activities is outlined in the table below.
| Group Title | Activity | |
| Common Principles for Inspection (including inspector attributes) | This working group produced a document entitled “Framework for Common Approach to Inspection Work”. This document contains common principles for inspection work such as transparency, accountability and consistency, as well as a high level common approach to conducting inspections.The document also outlines the attributes required of an inspector including skills in communication, problem solving and technical/professional knowledge. |
Completed |
| Performance Measures | This working group is examining the regulator activity that should be measured and analysed to produce a consistent indication of the quantitative and qualitative measures of success of each jurisdiction.This work will complement the Comparative Performance Monitoring Reports which are produced by Safe Work Australia to assess national OHS trends. |
In progress |
| Procedures for Inspector Powers and Functions | This working group is developing operational procedures relating to inspector powers/functions in terms of: inspector’s role in assisting to resolve or resolving disputes/issues; inspector’s power to issue notices; inspector’s power to enter the workplace and powers upon entry to the workplace.The working group is also developing notice templates for improvement, prohibition and non-disturbance are also being developed. | Completed |
| Inspection Reports | HWSA have determined that regulators who issue inspection reports will do so in a consistent manner. This working group has developed a nationally consistent policy, procedure and template for the issuance of inspection reports following inspector interaction with the jurisdiction. | Completed |
| Training | The National Workplace Inspector Training and Development Reference Group’s (NWITDRG) is developing national training material to support the model legislation including WHS Act, National Compliance and Enforcement Policy, Regulations and Codes of Practice.Each jurisdiction will then customise the national material to suit their needs whilst maintaining national consistency in delivery and assessment of learning. | In progress |
| Inspector Appointments Across Borders | This working group is developing model national operational policy/procedures for the appointment of local persons as inspectors, specifying conditions of inspector appointment, the criteria for suspending/cancelling appointment, and directions to inspectors for exercising powers.In addition, the group is developing national protocol/criteria for when and how WHS regulators can appoint inspectors from other jurisdictions to be inspectors under their own WHS Act. | Completed |
| Review of Decisions | This working group is developing a common approach/methodology for internal review practices (of reviewable decisions), common forms for requests for internal review, and a common template for the response/outcome of the decision of internal review. The group is also developing common information and guidance material for the internal and external review process, as well as a process to engage all relevant internal parties for the handling of external review. | Completed |
| Inspector identity card |
This working group is developing a common approach/methodology for internal review practices (of reviewable decisions), common forms for requests for internal review, and a common template for the response/outcome of the decision of internal review.The group is also developing common information and guidance material for the internal and external review process, as well as a process to engage all relevant internal parties for the handling of external review. | In progress |
| C&E Policy | This working group has developed a draft National Compliance and Enforcement Policy (NCEP) to replace HWSA's current version, which was developed in 2008. The draft policy was forwarded to Safe Work Australia who has overall responsibility for the NCEP and has subsequently been approved by Safe Work Australia and endorsed by the WRMC. |
Completed |
| Investigation & Prosecution | This working group is developing a set of nationally consistent policies and procedures for the conduct of investigation work by the regulators. | In progress |
| Enforceable Undertakings | Part 11 of the Model Act allows for enforceable undertakings to be negotiated between the regulator and duty holders. This working group is developing consistent policy, procedures and tools to support the implementation of this compliance tool. | In progress |
| Infringement Notices | This working group is identifying common principles for the issuing of OHS infringement notices, and developing operational procedures to support the principles for the issuing of notices and internal review processes.The group is also developing an infringement notice template. | Comnpleted |
| Interpretive Guidelines Priority Topics | This working group has identified priority topics for interpretive guidelines (how an Act provision applies/how regulator’s discretion will be exercised) which has been forwarded to Safe Work Australia for drafting. | Completed |
| Other Guidance Material | This working group has assessed the guidance material that each jurisdiction maintains, and has developed a priority list of what material may be usefully harmonised so that duty holders and workers across Australia receive the same high quality information. Work on harmonising those documents is likely to commence in 2012 by a committee of regulator’s representatives. | Completed |
| HSR Courses | This working group is developing a nationally consistent curriculum for HSR training courses as well as a consistent approval process for training providers. This work has now been referred to SIG-OHS where a TAG has been established. |
Completed |
| Entry Permits | This working group is developing agreed common principles, procedures and training material for entry permit holders to facilitate consistency of approach by Work Health and Safety regulators to EPH issues. The training material work has now been referred to SIG-OHS where a TAG has been established. | In progress |
| HSR and Entry Permit Training – Post Approval Monitoring Regimes |
This working group will be developing harmonised post approval monitoring regimes. |
In progress |
| Authorisations | This working group is developing common principles for the management of authorisations under the Model Work Health and Safety Legislation, and common acceptance criteria for decision-making processes relating to approvals, suspensions and revoking of authorisations.Finalisation of this deliverable is dependent on having a settled final version of the model WHS Regulations. | In progress |
| Triage | This working group is developing a common approach to triaging requests for information, incident notification and service requests (also known in some jurisdictions as workplace complaints) to determine the regulator’s response. | Completed |
| Cross Jurisdiction Memorandum of Understanding | The role of this working group is to update HWSA’s memorandum of understanding between its members (including how the information sharing provisions will work). | In progress |
| Implementation on Audits | TThis working group will assess the success of harmonisation policy implementation across the regulators. The group is developing an audit regime which may be carried out internally or peer-to-peer.Safe Work Australia will also be conducting assessment of the effectiveness of harmonisation and it is anticipated that these audits will complement that process. | In progress |
| Technical Specialists | This group has developed a technical register to assist regulators in sourcing subject matter experts across jurisdictions. | Completed |
| Presentation | A template presentation has been developed by this group to assist regulators to deliver consistent messages when delivering presentations on the work of the Regulators Harmonisation Project. | Completed |
| Major Hazard Facilities | This group is developing a regulators’ national framework, consisting of principles and policies for a common national approach to the regulatory oversight of Major Hazard Facilities (MHF’s). The development of guidance material on regulatory and administrative processes to support Model WHS Regulations on MHF’s includes: Notification, Registration, Determination; Safety Case Outline; Safety Case Preparation / Content; Demonstration of Adequacy; Licensing. |
In progress |
| Administration of the Construction Regulations | This working group is setting out agreed common principles/procedures for the administration of Construction Regulations to facilitate consistency and recommend best practice for a common approach across jurisdictions. | In progress |
| Evidentiary Guides | This working group is developing evidentiary guides, setting out points of proof and related information to support inspectors with a common set of elements. It will also provide support regarding inspector’s reasonable belief necessary to issue notices and prove offences beyond reasonable doubt (for potential prosecution). | In progress |