Purpose:

This legislation provides a nationally consistent framework for ensuring the health and safety of workers and workplaces in Western Australia by eliminating or minimising risks arising from work, and it includes consequential amendments and repeals of other relevant laws.

Objectives:

• Protect workers and other persons against harm to their health, safety, and welfare through the elimination or minimisation of risks arising from work.
• Provide for fair and effective workplace representation, consultation, cooperation, and issue resolution in relation to work health and safety.
• Foster cooperation and consultation among, and facilitate the participation of, workers, persons conducting businesses or undertakings, unions, and employer organisations in the formulation and implementation of work health and safety standards and practices.
• Promote the provision of advice, information, education, and training in relation to work health and safety.
• Secure compliance with the Act through effective and appropriate compliance and enforcement measures.
• Ensure appropriate scrutiny and review of actions taken by persons exercising powers and performing functions under the Act.
• Provide a framework for continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health and safety.
• Provide for the formulation of policies and the coordination of the administration of laws relating to work health and safety.
• Maintain and strengthen the national harmonisation of laws relating to work health and safety to facilitate a consistent national approach to work health and safety in the State.

Key Provisions:

• Primary Duty of Care (s.19): Imposes a duty on persons conducting a business or undertaking to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons at the workplace.
• Further Duties of Persons Conducting Businesses or Undertakings (s.20-26A): Specifies duties for those managing/controlling workplaces, fixtures, fittings, or plant, and for designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers, installers, constructors, and commissioners of plant, substances, or structures, as well as providers of WHS services.
• Duty of Officers, Workers, and Other Persons (s.27-29): Outlines the due diligence duties of officers, and the duties of workers and other persons at the workplace to take reasonable care for health and safety and cooperate with WHS measures.
• Incident Notification (s.35-39): Defines notifiable incidents (death, serious injury/illness, dangerous incidents) and establishes duties to immediately notify the regulator and preserve incident sites.
• Authorisations (s.40-45): Sets requirements for authorised workplaces, plant, substances, structures, and work, and mandates compliance with authorisation conditions.
• Consultation, Representation, and Participation (s.46-79): Requires consultation between duty holders and with workers, and provides for the election and functions of health and safety representatives and the establishment and functions of health and safety committees.
• Issue Resolution (s.80-82): Mandates reasonable efforts to resolve work health and safety issues through agreed or default procedures.
• Right to Cease Unsafe Work (s.83-89A): Grants workers the right to cease unsafe work and allows health and safety representatives to direct work cessation under specific conditions.
• Provisional Improvement Notices (s.90-102): Empowers health and safety representatives to issue notices for contraventions or likely contraventions of the Act.
• Prohibition on Discriminatory, Coercive, and Misleading Conduct (s.104-109): Prohibits actions against individuals for exercising their WHS rights or functions.
• Powers of Regulator to Obtain Information and Require Independent Reports (s.155-155C): Grants the regulator powers to require information, documents, evidence, and independent reports for compliance monitoring and enforcement.
• Functions and Powers of Inspectors (s.160-187): Defines the roles and powers of inspectors, including powers of entry, to require documents and answers, and to seize things.
• Enforcement Measures (s.191-213): Authorises inspectors to issue improvement, prohibition, and non-disturbance notices, and enables the regulator to take remedial action if notices are not complied with.
• Enforceable Undertakings (s.216-222): Allows the regulator to accept written undertakings in connection with contraventions or alleged contraventions, which become enforceable once accepted.
• No Insurance or Other Indemnities Against Fines (s.272A): Prohibits insurance policies or other indemnities for fines for offences against this Act.
• Codes of Practice (s.274-275): Provides for the approval and use of codes of practice as evidence of compliance in proceedings.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Primary Duty of Care (s.19):
  • Action: Implement and maintain a safe work environment, including safe plant and structures, safe systems of work, and safe handling/storage of plant, structures, and substances.
  • Action: Provide and maintain adequate welfare facilities for workers, ensuring accessibility.
  • Action: Provide necessary information, training, instruction, and supervision to protect all persons from work-related health and safety risks.
  • Action: Monitor workers’ health and workplace conditions to prevent illness or injury.
  • Action: If providing worker accommodation essential for engagement, maintain the premises to prevent health and safety risks.
• Duties for management or control of workplaces/fixtures/plant (s.20, s.21):
  • Action: Ensure any workplace under management or control, including means of entry and exit, is without risks to health and safety.
  • Action: Ensure fixtures, fittings, and plant at a workplace under management or control are without risks to health and safety.
• Duties for designers of plant, substances, structures (s.22):
  • Action: Ensure designs are inherently safe for use, handling, storage, construction, and all foreseeable activities (e.g., manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, decommissioning, disposal).
  • Action: Conduct or arrange necessary calculations, analysis, testing, or examination to ensure safety of design.
  • Documentation: Provide written information to persons receiving the design, detailing its purpose, results of safety assessments (including hazardous properties of substances), and any conditions necessary for safe use.
• Duties for manufacturers of plant, substances, structures (s.23):
  • Action: Ensure manufacturing processes result in plant, substances, or structures that are safe for use, handling, storage, construction, and foreseeable activities.
  • Action: Conduct or arrange necessary calculations, analysis, testing, or examination related to manufacturing safety.
  • Documentation: Provide written information to recipients of the manufactured item, detailing its purpose, results of safety assessments, and any conditions for safe use.
• Duties for importers of plant, substances, structures (s.24):
  • Action: Ensure imported plant, substances, or structures are safe for use, handling, storage, construction, and foreseeable activities.
  • Action: Conduct or ensure prior calculations, analysis, testing, or examination related to imported item safety have been performed.
  • Documentation: Provide written information to recipients of the imported item, detailing its purpose, results of safety assessments, and any conditions for safe use.
• Duties for suppliers of plant, substances, structures (s.25):
  • Action: Ensure supplied plant, substances, or structures are safe for use, handling, storage, construction, and foreseeable activities.
  • Action: Conduct or ensure prior calculations, analysis, testing, or examination related to supplied item safety have been performed.
  • Documentation: Provide written information to recipients of the supplied item, detailing its purpose, results of safety assessments, and any conditions for safe use.
• Duties for installers, constructors, or commissioners of plant or structures (s.26):
  • Action: Ensure that the method of installation, construction, or commissioning results in plant or structures being safe for their intended use and related activities.
• Duty of Officers (s.27):
  • Action: Proactively maintain up-to-date knowledge of WHS matters and understand business operations, hazards, and risks.
  • Action: Ensure adequate resources and processes are in place and used to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks.
  • Action: Establish and implement processes for timely response to WHS incidents, hazards, and risks.
  • Action: Ensure processes are in place and implemented for complying with all duties and obligations under the Act (e.g., incident reporting, worker consultation, training provision, notice compliance).
  • Action: Verify that these resources and processes are being provided and used effectively.
• Duties of Workers (s.28):
  • Action: Take reasonable care for personal health and safety and ensure actions do not harm others.
  • Action: Comply with reasonable instructions from the business/undertaking related to WHS.
  • Action: Cooperate with WHS policies or procedures that have been communicated.
• Incident Notification (s.38, s.39):
  • Reporting Requirement: Immediately notify the regulator by telephone or in writing (e.g., fax, email) upon becoming aware of a notifiable incident (death, serious injury/illness, dangerous incident) arising from business conduct.
    • Timeframe: “Immediately” and “fastest possible means”. If telephoned, provide details requested; if written notice is required by regulator, submit within 48 hours.
    • Documentation: Written notice must be in a form or contain details approved by the regulator.
  • Record-keeping: Keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the date of notification to the regulator.
  • Action: Preserve incident sites (including plant, substances, structures) until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise, unless necessary to assist injured/deceased persons, make the site safe, minimise further risk, or if part of a police investigation, or with inspector/regulator permission.
• Authorisations (s.41-45):
  • Action: Ensure any workplace, plant, substance, structure, or work requiring authorisation under regulations is properly authorised before operation or use.
  • Action: Ensure personnel carrying out work requiring prescribed qualifications or experience possess them or are supervised by qualified persons.
  • Action: Adhere to all conditions specified in any WHS authorisation granted under the regulations.
• Consultation, Cooperation, and Coordination (s.46-49):
  • Action: Consult, cooperate, and coordinate activities with all other duty holders concerning the same WHS matters, so far as is reasonably practicable.
  • Action: Consult with workers who are or are likely to be directly affected by WHS matters, in accordance with agreed or statutory procedures.
  • Action: Consultation must involve sharing relevant information, providing opportunities for workers to express views and contribute to decisions, taking worker views into account, and advising of outcomes timely.
  • Timeframe: Consultation is required when identifying hazards/assessing risks, making decisions on risk control or welfare facilities, proposing changes affecting WHS, or establishing WHS procedures.
• Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and Health and Safety Committees (HSCs) (s.51-53, s.56, s.57, s.61, s.70, s.72, s.73, s.74, s.75, s.79):
  • Action: Facilitate the determination of work groups and HSR elections upon worker request.
  • Timeframe: Commence negotiations for work group determination within 14 days of a request.
  • Action: Negotiate in good faith with workers and/or their representatives on work group determinations.
  • Reporting Requirement: Notify workers of work group negotiation outcomes and any determined groups or variations as soon as practicable.
  • Action: Provide necessary resources, facilities, and assistance for HSR elections.
  • Action: Consult and confer with HSRs on WHS matters, allowing access to information on hazards/risks and worker health and safety (excluding personal medical info without consent).
  • Action: Provide HSRs with necessary resources, facilities, and assistance to perform their functions, including time off work with pay.
  • Training: If requested by an HSR, allow them to attend WHS training approved by the Work Health and Safety Commission and prescribed by regulations.
    • Timeframe: Allow time off for training as soon as practicable within 3 months of the request.
    • Financial Obligation: Pay course fees and other reasonable costs for HSR training.
  • Financial Obligation: Apportion costs for HSRs representing multiple businesses equally, unless otherwise agreed.
  • Record-keeping/Display: Prepare and keep an up-to-date list of HSRs and deputy HSRs. Display a copy at the principal place of business and appropriate workplaces, readily accessible to workers.
  • Action: Establish a health and safety committee within 2 months if requested by an HSR or 5+ workers, or if required by regulations.
  • Action: Allow HSC members time off with pay for committee meetings and functions.
  • Action: Allow HSC access to information on workplace hazards/risks and worker health and safety (excluding personal medical info without consent).
  • Action: Consider HSC recommendations/decisions without unreasonable delay, provide a response, and take action for agreed implementations.
• Issue Resolution (s.81, s.86, s.87):
  • Action: Make reasonable efforts to resolve WHS issues promptly and effectively, following agreed procedures or the default procedure.
  • Action: If a worker ceases work due to safety concerns, ensure the business is notified as soon as practicable (unless HSR-directed cessation).
  • Action: If a worker ceases work, they must remain available for suitable alternative work, and the business may direct them to such work.
• Provisional Improvement Notices (s.97, s.99, s.100):
  • Display Requirement: If issued a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN), display a copy prominently at or near the affected workplace as soon as practicable.
  • Action: Comply with the PIN within the specified timeframe.
  • Action: If requesting a review of a PIN, inform the HSR as soon as practicable.
• Enforcement Measures - Notices (s.193, s.197, s.200, s.210, s.244G):
  • Action: Comply with improvement notices within the specified period.
  • Reporting Requirement: Notify the regulator of compliance with an improvement notice as soon as reasonably practicable after completing the action.
  • Action: Comply with prohibition notices and non-disturbance notices.
  • Display Requirement: Display a copy of any improvement, prohibition, or non-disturbance notice prominently at or near the affected workplace as soon as possible.
  • Action (Crown Agencies): If a notice is delivered to a person at a workplace of a Crown agency, that person must, as soon as practicable, provide a copy to the chief executive of the agency.
• Enforceable Undertakings (s.219):
  • Action: Comply with any accepted WHS undertaking.
• Information Requirements from Regulator (s.155, s.155B):
  • Action/Documentation: Provide written information, documents, or appear to give evidence (oral or written) as required by the regulator via written notice.
  • Action/Documentation: Procure and provide independent reports on WHS matters or accidents, prepared by a regulator-approved, suitably qualified, independent person, with specified content and within given timeframes.
• Inspectors’ Powers (s.165, s.167C, s.171, s.177):
  • Action: Provide reasonable help to inspectors exercising powers during workplace entry, including operating equipment or providing access codes/passwords for devices if documents are stored electronically.
  • Action: Provide information on document custody, provide documents or copies, and answer questions (in interviews or otherwise) as required by an inspector, verifying by statutory declaration if directed.
  • Action: Do not tamper with seized items or access restrictions placed by an inspector.
  • Action: If required, transport a seized item to a specified place and maintain control over it.
  • Note (Self-Incrimination): While answers/documents may be compelled despite self-incrimination, they are generally not admissible as evidence against the individual in civil or criminal proceedings (except for false/misleading information).
• General Offences (s.268, s.272A, s.273):
  • Action/Documentation: Do not give information or provide documents that are known to be false or misleading; if a document is misleading, it must be accompanied by a statement explaining the misleading particular.
  • Financial Obligation: Do not enter into, offer, or receive insurance or other indemnities against liability for fines for offences under this Act.
  • Financial Obligation: Do not impose any levy or charge on workers for anything done or provided in relation to work health and safety.

Metadata Keywords:

Work Health and Safety, Western Australia, WHS Act 2020, Workplace Safety, Agricultural Compliance, Incident Reporting, Risk Management, Duty of Care, Enforcement.

Publication Information:

As at 31 Jan 2025

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://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/RedirectURL?OpenAgent&query=mrdoc_48252.pdf →