Purpose:

To provide a balanced and nationally consistent framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces by protecting persons against harm, providing for effective workplace representation, consultation, cooperation, and issue resolution, promoting advice, information, education, and training, and securing compliance through effective measures, while ensuring continuous improvement and national harmonisation.

Objectives:

• Protecting workers and other persons against harm to their health, safety, and welfare through the elimination or minimisation of risks arising from work or from specified types of substances or plant.
• Providing for fair and effective workplace representation, consultation, cooperation and issue resolution in relation to work health and safety.
• Encouraging unions and employer organisations to take a constructive role in promoting improvements in work health and safety practices, and assisting persons conducting businesses or undertakings and workers to achieve a healthier and safer working environment.
• Promoting the provision of advice, information, education and training in relation to work health and safety.
• Securing compliance with obligations through effective and appropriate compliance and enforcement measures.
• Ensuring appropriate scrutiny and review of actions taken by persons exercising powers and performing functions.
• Providing a framework for continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health and safety.
• Maintaining and strengthening the national harmonisation of laws relating to work health and safety and to facilitate a consistent national approach to work health and safety in the Territory.

Key Provisions:

• Primary Duty of Care (s.19): A person conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the health and safety of workers and other persons, including the provision and maintenance of a safe work environment, safe plant and structures, safe systems of work, safe handling and storage of plant, structures and substances, adequate welfare facilities, necessary information, training, instruction, and supervision, and monitoring of worker health and workplace conditions.
• Duties of Persons with Management or Control of Workplaces, Fixtures, Fittings, or Plant (s.20, s.21): Such persons must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace, its entry/exit, and anything arising from it, or the fixtures, fittings, and plant are without risks to health and safety.
• Duties of Designers, Manufacturers, Importers, and Suppliers of Plant, Substances or Structures (s.22-25): These persons must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the plant, substance or structure is designed/manufactured/imported/supplied to be without risks to health and safety when used for its intended purpose or during foreseeable activities (e.g., assembly, storage, decommissioning, disposal), and must provide adequate information and results of testing to those provided with the item.
• Duty of Persons who Install, Construct or Commission Plant or Structures (s.26): These persons must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the installation, construction or commissioning ensures the plant or structure is without risks to health and safety for those who install, construct, use, decommission, dismantle, demolish, or dispose of it.
• Duty of Officers (s.27): Officers must exercise due diligence to ensure the person conducting the business or undertaking complies with their duties and obligations under this Act. Due diligence includes acquiring up-to-date knowledge of WHS matters, understanding operations and associated hazards/risks, ensuring appropriate resources and processes for risk elimination/minimisation, having processes for receiving/considering/responding to incident/hazard/risk information, and implementing processes for complying with duties.
• Duties of Workers (s.28): Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety, ensure their actions do not adversely affect others’ health and safety, comply with reasonable instructions, and cooperate with reasonable WHS policies and procedures.
• Incident Notification (s.38): A person conducting a business or undertaking must immediately notify the regulator of any notifiable incident (death, serious injury or illness, or dangerous incident) arising out of the conduct of the business or undertaking, and preserve the incident site.
• Authorisations (Part 4): Regulations may require authorisation (licence, permit, registration) for workplaces, plant, substances, or work, or prescribe qualifications/experience for carrying out work. Persons must comply with conditions of authorisation.
• Consultation, Representation and Participation (Part 5): Requires consultation, cooperation and coordination between duty holders, and consultation with workers on work health and safety matters, especially when identifying hazards, assessing risks, making decisions about risk control, welfare facilities, and proposed changes affecting health or safety. Provisions for election, powers, and obligations relating to Health and Safety Representatives and Health and Safety Committees are detailed.
• Right to Cease or Direct Cessation of Unsafe Work (s.84, s.85): Workers have the right to cease unsafe work if there’s a reasonable concern of serious risk. Health and safety representatives may direct workers to cease work under similar circumstances, following consultation.
• Provisional Improvement Notices (s.90-99): Health and safety representatives may issue provisional improvement notices to remedy contraventions or prevent likely contraventions, provided they have completed prescribed training and consulted with the person.
• Prohibition of Discriminatory, Coercive and Misleading Conduct (Part 6): Prohibits discriminatory conduct for prohibited reasons (e.g., worker exercising WHS rights), coercion or inducement related to WHS powers/functions, and false or misleading representations about WHS rights/obligations.
• Workplace Entry by WHS Entry Permit Holders (Part 7): Establishes rights for WHS entry permit holders (union officials) to enter workplaces to inquire into suspected contraventions or to consult/advise workers, with specific notice requirements and limitations.
• Enforcement Measures (Part 10): Authorises inspectors to issue improvement notices, prohibition notices, and non-disturbance notices to ensure compliance and manage risks, and allows the regulator to take remedial action and seek injunctions for non-compliance.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Primary Duty of Care (s.19):
  • Documentation/Action: Maintain a work environment without risks to health and safety.
  • Documentation/Action: Provide and maintain safe plant and structures.
  • Documentation/Action: Implement and maintain safe systems of work.
  • Documentation/Action: Ensure safe use, handling, and storage of plant, structures, and substances.
  • Documentation/Action: Provide adequate facilities for worker welfare and ensure access.
  • Documentation/Action: Provide necessary information, training, instruction, or supervision to protect all persons from risks.
  • Documentation/Action: Monitor the health of workers and conditions at the workplace to prevent illness or injury.
  • Documentation/Action: If providing accommodation for workers that is necessary for their engagement, maintain premises without risks to health and safety.
• Duties of Designers, Manufacturers, Importers, Suppliers, Installers (s.22-26):
  • Documentation/Action: Carry out, or arrange for, necessary calculations, analysis, testing, or examination to ensure plant, substances, or structures are without risks.
  • Documentation/Action: Provide adequate information to persons supplied with the plant, substance, or structure concerning its designed purpose, results of testing (including hazardous properties for substances), and any conditions for safe use.
  • Documentation/Action: Upon request, provide current relevant information on the above matters to persons carrying out activities related to the item.
• Duty of Officers (s.27):
  • Documentation/Action: Take reasonable steps to acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of work health and safety matters.
  • Documentation/Action: Take reasonable steps to gain an understanding of the nature of operations and associated hazards/risks.
  • Documentation/Action: Ensure appropriate resources and processes are available and used to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks.
  • Documentation/Action: Ensure appropriate processes for receiving and considering information regarding incidents, hazards, and risks, and responding in a timely way.
  • Documentation/Action: Ensure processes are in place and implemented for complying with duties and obligations under this Act (e.g., reporting notifiable incidents, consulting with workers, ensuring compliance with notices, providing training).
  • Documentation/Action: Verify the provision and use of resources and processes.
• Incident Notification (s.38, s.39):
  • Reporting Requirement: Immediately notify the regulator by telephone or in writing upon becoming aware of a notifiable incident arising out of the business or undertaking.
  • Reporting Requirement: If notifying by telephone, provide details requested by the regulator; if required by the regulator, provide a written notice within 48 hours. Written notice must be in an approved form or contain approved details.
  • Record-keeping Requirement: Keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the date of notice to the regulator.
  • Action: Preserve the incident site (including plant, substance, structure or thing associated with the incident) until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise, unless action is required to assist an injured person, remove a deceased person, make the site safe, for police investigation, or with inspector/regulator permission.
• Authorisations (s.41-45):
  • Documentation/Action: Ensure workplaces, plant, substances, or their designs, and specific types of work are authorised (licensed, permitted, registered) if required by regulations, prior to use or conducting work.
  • Documentation/Action: Ensure work is carried out by, or under the supervision of, persons with prescribed qualifications or experience, if required by regulations.
  • Documentation/Action: Comply with all conditions of any authorisation given under the Regulations.
• Consultation with Workers (s.47-49):
  • Action: Consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers directly affected by WHS matters, in accordance with agreed procedures or requirements.
  • Action: Share relevant information about WHS matters with workers.
  • Action: Provide workers reasonable opportunity to express views, raise WHS issues, and contribute to decision-making.
  • Action: Take workers’ views into account.
  • Action: Advise workers of the outcome of consultation in a timely manner.
  • Requirement: Consultation is required when identifying hazards/assessing risks, deciding on risk elimination/minimisation, deciding on adequacy of welfare facilities, proposing changes affecting worker health/safety, and making decisions about procedures for consulting workers, resolving WHS issues, monitoring worker health, monitoring workplace conditions, or providing information/training for workers.
• Obligations to Health and Safety Representatives (s.70-74):
  • Action: Consult with Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) on WHS matters.
  • Action: Confer with HSRs when reasonably requested to ensure worker health and safety.
  • Documentation/Action: Allow HSRs access to information regarding hazards/risks affecting their work group and the health/safety of workers, without disclosing personal/medical information without consent unless de-identified.
  • Action: Allow HSRs, with worker consent, to be present at WHS interviews between workers and inspectors or PCBU representatives.
  • Action: Provide HSRs with reasonably necessary or prescribed resources, facilities, and assistance to exercise their powers/functions.
  • Action: Allow persons assisting HSRs access to the workplace if necessary, provided they hold valid WHS entry permits and access is not reasonably refused.
  • Action: Permit HSRs to accompany inspectors during workplace inspections.
  • Timeframe: Allow HSRs reasonably necessary time for their functions, with normal pay.
  • Training Requirement: If requested by an HSR, allow them to attend an approved WHS training course within 3 months, and pay course fees and reasonable associated costs.
  • Documentation: Prepare and keep up-to-date a list of HSRs and deputy HSRs.
  • Reporting Requirement: Display the HSR list prominently at the principal place of business and appropriate workplaces, readily accessible to workers.
  • Reporting Requirement: Provide a copy of the up-to-date HSR list to the regulator as soon as practicable.
• Health and Safety Committees (s.75, s.79):
  • Action: Establish a health and safety committee within 2 months of a request by an HSR or 5+ workers, or if required by Regulations.
  • Timeframe: The committee must meet at least once every 3 months and at any reasonable time requested by at least half the members.
  • Action: Allow committee members reasonably necessary time to attend meetings or carry out functions, with normal pay.
  • Documentation/Action: Allow the committee access to information relating to workplace hazards/risks and worker health/safety, without disclosing personal/medical information without consent unless de-identified.
• Issue Resolution (s.81):
  • Action: Parties to a WHS issue must make reasonable efforts to achieve a timely, final, and effective resolution in accordance with agreed procedures or default procedures in Regulations.
• Compliance with Notices (s.97, s.99, s.193, s.197, s.200, s.210, s.219):
  • Action: Display a copy of a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) in a prominent place at or near the affected workplace area as soon as practicable.
  • Action: Comply with a PIN within the specified time if an inspector has not been requested to review it.
  • Action: Comply with an Improvement Notice within the period specified.
  • Action: Comply with a Prohibition Notice.
  • Action: Comply with a Non-Disturbance Notice.
  • Action: Display a copy of an Improvement, Prohibition, or Non-Disturbance Notice in a prominent place at or near the affected workplace area as soon as possible.
  • Action: Comply with any WHS undertaking that has been accepted by the regulator.
• Providing Information (s.268):
  • Action: Do not give information that is known to be false or misleading in a material particular, or omits matters making it misleading.
  • Action: Do not produce documents known to be false or misleading without indicating this and providing correct information, or providing a signed statement explaining the falsity/misleading aspect.
• Not to Levy Workers (s.273):
  • Action: Do not impose a levy or charge on a worker, or permit one to be imposed, for anything done or provided in relation to work health and safety.

Metadata Keywords:

Work Health Safety, WHS, Northern Territory, Legislation, Compliance, Agriculture, Duties, Incident Notification, Workplace Safety, Australia

Publication Information:

Publication date: Not specified in document. Version number: As in force at 1 February 2020.

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Beef & Veal, Chicken, Coarse Grains, Cotton, Dairy, Eggs, Fisheries, Forestry, Horticulture, Oilseeds, Pig, Sheep Meat, Sugar, Wheat, Wine, Wool.

Date Added to database:

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

URL:

https://legislation.nt.gov.au/api/sitecore/Act/PDF?id=12282 →