Purpose:

To create a legislative framework to secure the health, safety, and welfare of persons at work, to repeal the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985, and to provide for transitional and consequential matters.

Objectives:

• To secure the health, safety and welfare of employees and other persons at work.
• To eliminate, at the source, risks to the health, safety or welfare of employees and other persons at work.
• To ensure that the health and safety of members of the public is not placed at risk by the conduct of undertakings by employers and self-employed persons.
• To provide for the involvement of employees, employers, and organisations representing those persons, in the formulation and implementation of health, safety and welfare standards.

Key Provisions:

• Establishes the Victorian WorkCover Authority and outlines its functions and powers, including obtaining information, making guidelines, accepting undertakings, and giving compliance advice.
• Imposes general duties on employers to provide and maintain a safe working environment, monitor health and conditions, and ensure the safety of other persons at workplaces.
• Outlines duties of self-employed persons to ensure the health and safety of other persons arising from their undertakings.
• Specifies duties for employees regarding their own health and safety, the safety of others, and cooperation with employers on safety measures.
• Assigns duties to persons who manage or control workplaces, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and installers of plant or substances, concerning health and safety.
• Prohibits reckless endangerment of persons at workplaces leading to serious injury.
• Requires employers to consult with employees on health and safety matters, including hazard identification, risk control, welfare facilities, and workplace changes.
• Mandates the notification and preservation of sites following workplace incidents that result in death, certain medical treatments, serious injuries, or serious risks to health or safety.
• Establishes offences for workplace manslaughter, with severe penalties for negligent conduct causing death due to breach of applicable duties.
• Sets requirements for licensing, registration, prescribed qualifications, and permits for workplaces, plant, substances, and certain work activities.
• Provides for the establishment of designated work groups, election of health and safety representatives, and formation of health and safety committees for employee representation.
• Grants powers to health and safety representatives, including workplace inspection and the issuance of provisional improvement notices.
• Outlines obligations of employers to health and safety representatives, such as providing training, access to information, and time off with pay.
• Details the powers of inspectors for enforcement, including entry, examination, seizure of evidence, requiring document production and answers to questions, and issuing non-disturbance, improvement, or prohibition notices.
• Prohibits insurance or indemnity arrangements for pecuniary penalties under the Act or regulations.
• Provides for the approval and effect of compliance codes, offering practical guidance for duty holders.
• Stipulates requirements for non-WorkCover employers to contribute to the WorkCover Authority Fund and provide returns and information for occupational health, safety, and welfare regulation.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• General Duties of Employers (Part 3, Division 2):
  • Safe Working Environment: Provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 21(1)). This includes:
    • Providing or maintaining plant or systems of work that are safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 21(2)(a)).
    • Making arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage, or transport of plant or substances, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 21(2)(b)).
    • Maintaining each workplace under the employer’s management and control in a safe condition and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 21(2)©).
    • Providing adequate facilities for the welfare of employees at any workplace under the employer’s management and control, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 21(2)(d)).
    • Providing necessary information, instruction, training, or supervision to employees to enable safe work and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 21(2)(e)).
  • Monitoring Health and Conditions: Monitor the health of employees and conditions at any workplace under the employer’s management and control, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 22(1)(a)-(b)).
  • Information Provision: Provide information to employees concerning health and safety at the workplace (in such other languages as appropriate), including names of persons for enquiries or complaints (Section 22(1)©).
  • Record Keeping: Keep information and records relating to the health and safety of employees, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 22(2)(a)).
  • Expert Advice: Employ or engage suitably qualified persons to provide advice on occupational health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 22(2)(b)).
  • Safety for Other Persons: Ensure that persons other than employees are not exposed to health or safety risks arising from the employer’s undertaking, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 23(1)).
• Duties of Self-Employed Persons (Part 3, Division 3):
  • Safety for Other Persons: Ensure that persons are not exposed to health or safety risks arising from the self-employed person’s undertaking, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 24(1)).
• Duty to Consult (Part 4):
  • Consultation with Employees: Consult with directly affected employees, so far as is reasonably practicable, when:
    • Identifying or assessing hazards or risks to health or safety (Section 35(1)(a)).
    • Making decisions about risk control measures (Section 35(1)(b)).
    • Making decisions about adequacy of employee welfare facilities (Section 35(1)©).
    • Making decisions about procedures for resolving health/safety issues, consulting employees, monitoring health/conditions, or providing information/training (Section 35(1)(d)).
    • Determining health and safety committee membership (Section 35(1)(e)).
    • Proposing changes affecting employee health or safety to workplace, plant, substances, or work conduct (Section 35(1)(f)).
  • Consultation Method: Share information, give reasonable opportunity for views, and take those views into account (Section 35(3)).
  • Consultation with Health and Safety Representatives: If employees are represented by a health and safety representative, consultation must involve that representative (Section 35(4)).
  • Consultation with Other Employers (Labour Hire): Where a person is considered an employer of a worker under labour hire arrangements, and other persons also have duties to the same worker, all such persons must consult, cooperate, and coordinate activities with each other, so far as is reasonably practicable (Section 35A(2)).
• Duties Relating to Incidents (Part 5):
  • Incident Notification: Immediately after becoming aware of an incident (resulting in death, specific medical treatments/injuries, or serious risk from certain exposures), an employer or self-employed person must notify the Authority (Section 38(1)).
  • Written Record of Incident: Within 48 hours after being required to notify, the employer or self-employed person must provide a written record of the incident to the Authority in an approved form (Section 38(3)).
  • Record Retention: Keep a copy of the incident record for at least 5 years and make it available for inspection by an inspector, injured person/representative, or health and safety representative/committee members (Section 38(4)).
  • Preservation of Incident Sites: Ensure the site of an incident is not disturbed until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise, unless disturbance is for protecting health/safety, aiding an injured person, or making the site safe/preventing further occurrences (Section 39(1)-(2)).
• Licences, Registration, Permits and Other Requirements (Part 6):
  • Workplace/Plant/Substance Licensing/Registration: Do not conduct an undertaking, or use plant or substances at a workplace, if regulations require licensing or registration and it is not obtained (Section 40(1)-(3)).
  • Qualifications/Experience: Do not carry out work or activities at a workplace if regulations require specific qualifications or experience (Section 41).
  • Permit/Certificate of Competency: Do not carry out work or activities at a workplace if regulations require a permit or certificate of competency and it is not held (Section 42).
• Representation of Employees (Part 7):
  • Establishment of Designated Work Groups: If requested by an employee, the employer must do everything reasonable to ensure negotiations start within 14 days to establish designated work groups (Section 43(3)). Employers must establish agreed groups by written notice to employees (Section 44(2)).
  • Obligations to Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs):
    • Training: If requested by an HSR, allow the representative to attend an initial Authority-approved training course after election and a refresher course at least once a year thereafter (Section 67(1)). Requests must be made at least 14 days before the course starts (Section 67(2)).
    • Training Costs: Pay for time off work with pay for HSRs to attend approved courses, and pay the costs associated with attendance (Section 67(4)). For multiple employers, costs are apportioned equally unless agreed otherwise (Section 68(1)).
    • Information Access: Allow HSRs access to employer information on actual/potential hazards, and the health and safety of designated work group members or other authorised persons (Section 69(1)(a)). Do not allow access to identifiable medical information without consent (Section 69(2)).
    • Interview Presence: Allow an HSR to be present at occupational health and safety interviews between an employee/authorised person (with consent) and an inspector or employer representative (Section 69(1)(b)-©).
    • Time Off for Duties: Allow HSRs time off work with pay for exercising powers or attending Authority-approved training (other than s.67 courses) with 14 days’ notice (Section 69(1)(d)).
    • Facilities and Assistance: Provide necessary or prescribed facilities and assistance to HSRs to enable their powers to be exercised (Section 69(1)(e)).
    • List of HSRs: Ensure a written, up-to-date list of HSRs and deputy HSRs for each designated work group is prepared and displayed at the workplace or made readily accessible to all employees (Section 71).
  • Health and Safety Committees: Establish a health and safety committee within 3 months of an HSR request or if required by regulations (Section 72(1)). Ensure at least half the members are employees (Section 72(2)). Meet at least once every 3 months, or if at least half the members require a meeting (Section 72(4)).
• Powers to Issue Notices (Part 9, Division 8):
  • Comply with Notices: A person must comply with provisional improvement notices (Section 62(1)), provisional improvement notices affirmed by an inspector (Section 63(6)), non-disturbance notices (Section 110(4)), improvement notices (Section 111(4)), and prohibition notices (Section 112(5)).
  • Display of Notices: A person issued with a provisional improvement notice must bring it to the attention of affected persons and display a copy prominently at the workplace (Section 60(4)). Similar requirements apply for non-disturbance, improvement, or prohibition notices (Section 115(2)).
• Other Matters (Part 13):
  • Contributions (Non-WorkCover Employers): Pay contributions to the WorkCover Authority Fund quarterly on 1 August, 1 November, 1 February, and 1 May, within 14 days of the due date (Section 151A(4)).
  • Returns and Statutory Declarations (Non-WorkCover Employers): Submit a return in the approved form with a statutory declaration at intervals specified by the Authority to enable determination of contributions (Section 151A(6)).
  • Provision of Return (Non-WorkCover Employers): Submit a return with required employment and OHS information within 30 days after the end of each specified interval (Section 151B(2)).
  • Further Information (Non-WorkCover Employers): Provide further information as reasonably required by the Authority within 30 days of a written notice, or an agreed extended period (Section 151C(2), Section 151D(2)).
  • Facilitate Information Provision (Non-WorkCover Employers): Make changes to data collection, collation, storage, retrieval, or transfer as reasonably necessary to comply with information requirements, within 30 days of a written notice, or an agreed extended period (Section 151E(2)).
  • False or Misleading Information: Do not give information known to be false or misleading in a material particular when complying or purportedly complying with the Act or regulations (Section 153(1)). Do not produce documents known to be false or misleading without indicating so and, if practicable, providing correct information (Section 153(2)).

Metadata Keywords:

Occupational Health and Safety, OHS, Workplace Safety, Employer Duties, Employee Rights, Incident Reporting, Compliance, Victoria, Australia, Regulation

Publication Information:

Publication date: 26 October 2022 Version number: 043

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Not specified in document.

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/04-107aa043%20authorised.pdf →