Regulatory guides

The Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (WHS Regulations) are based on model work health and safety laws that have now been adopted in most Australian jurisdictions.

• Model WHS laws

Division 3 of Part 1 of the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) (sections 4–9) defines certain words for the purposes of the WHS Act and the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (WHS Regulations) and also provides meanings for other important terms.

• People under the WHS Act
• Places and things under the WHS Act

The core duties imposed by the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) are the ‘health and safety duties’ in Part 2 (sections 13–34), including the primary duty of care owed by persons conducting businesses or undertakings (PCBUs) towards workers and other persons.

• Primary duty of care
• Other duties of PCBUs
• Duties of officers
• Duties of workers
• Duties of all persons at a workplace

Division 2 of Part 9 of the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) (sections 160–162) gives functions and powers to inspectors who have been appointed by Comcare under section 156.

• Inspectors’ general powers on entry
• Inspectors’ powers relating to documents and interviews
• Inspectors’ powers to seize dangerous workplaces and things
• Inspectors’ powers relating to evidence of offences

Inspectors are given specific functions under Part 5 of the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act), which relates to the interactions of persons conducting businesses or undertakings (PCBUs), health and safety representatives (HSR), health and safety committees, work groups and workers. In certain situations where parties are unable to agree on an issue, Part 5 allows them to ask Comcare to appoint an inspector to assist them to resolve the issue or to decide a matter for them.

• Inspector assistance: health and safety issues
• Inspector assistance: cessation of work
• Inspector decisions: review of provisional improvement notices

Comcare undertakes a range of compliance and enforcement activities under the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) to promote compliance or to deter or respond to non-compliance. These activities may or may not involve the use of compliance tools. Compliance tools are specific measures that Comcare can use to achieve an outcome in relation to compliance. Some compliance tools are established by specific legislative provisions.

Compliance tools include notices, WHS undertakings and prosecutions.

• Improvement notices
• Prohibition notices
• WHS undertakings
• Prosecutions

Part 7 of the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) provides for WHS entry permit holders to enter workplaces in certain circumstances.

• WHS entry permits
• General obligations of WHS entry permit holders
• General obligations of other persons
• Entry to inquire into suspected contraventions
• Entry to consult and advise workers
• Dealing with disputes
• WHS civil penalty provisions

The Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (WHS Regulations) impose various duties and obligations. Comcare has the power to exempt persons from compliance with those duties and obligations. There are three types of exemption.

• General exemptions
• High risk work licence exemptions
• Major hazard facility exemptions

Comcare and its inspectors are empowered to require the production of documents or information under Parts 8 and 9 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth). However legal professional privilege (LPP) may be claimed over some documents or information that would otherwise be required to be produced. If you intend to resist the production of documents or information on the basis of LPP, you must prove that the claim of privilege is valid.
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• Guidelines - Claims of legal professional privilege