It has been a long time in the coming, but the new Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act and Regulations are here and will commence in 2013.
The 2008 agreement between the Commonwealth, States and Territories to implement harmonised Work Health and Safety Laws across Australia had an original implementation deadline of January 1, 2012, however concerns were raised about the effect on particular industries and the proposed commencement did not occur in all states, including SA, as those concerns were reviewed and debated in parliament.
When the 2012 deadline failed to occur, businesses and organisations were left wondering if it would occur at all. ?The panic was over, it wasn?t going to happen!?
Well it is happening! The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Bill was passed by both houses of parliament on November 1, 2012 with the agreement that ?South Australia?s new harmonised WHS Legislation will take effect on January 1, 2013.?
The question now is, are you ready?
Do you know what affect these changes will have on your business and how you manage safety? Are you prepared for those changes?
Changes under the new WHS Act and Regulations include, but are not limited to:
- Definition changes including the introduction of the term PCBU (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking) replacing the term Employer and covering a broader definition, changes to the definition of Officer and the introduction of the use of the term Worker replacing Employee with a broader definition to include work experience participants, volunteers and contractors.
- Responsibility changes with the removal of the requirement for ?Responsible Officer? training as responsibility is dispersed more evenly among management and workers, and the addition of ?Due Diligence? requirements for Officers.
- Changes to offence categories and increased Penalty changes with fines tripling in value.
- Increased consultation requirements, particularly in relation to contractor engagement and shared worksites.
- Issue resolution procedures required to be documented and communicated for Health and Safety issues.
- WHS undertakings being introduced as an alternative to prosecution procedures.
- The introduction of ?Union right of entry? for WHS purposes.
If you are not ready, or don?t fully understand the changes then you may be caught unaware. To see how you rate, take a few moments to complete our Basic WHS Assessment checklist.
It is important that you keep up to date with the changing responsibilities and obligations to ensure you protect your business from risks associated with Health and Safety management.
Viki Coad has over 8 years? experience working with South Australia?s Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Legislation, and interstate legislation, covering a range of industries including manufacturing and metal fabrication, retail, food preparation and handling, viticulture and wine production, aged care, recycling, community services and not for profit organisations, and work safety consultancy; which has given her a broad understanding of the many and varied different types of workplace risks, hazards and complexities of their management.
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