L2A1: Legislation Part 1

We are well into the month of June which means we are almost halfway through the year! It’s really moving!

This month we are going to do a bit of a deep(ish) dive into the WHS legislation which has recently come into affect – so you know what you need to do, how to do it, and what your rights and responsibilities are as a worker, PCBU, or apprentice – however you wish to look at it.

This week, we are going to focus on the actual legislation for the Work Health and Safety Laws, which are currently transitioning into effect. 

The old act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, was established in 1984. With the Work Health & Safety Act 2020 now taking its place along with updated regulation too.

There are a few key differences which you may need to think of or look out for – as a bit of the wording and phrasings have changed.

PCBU – the new ‘employer’

The WHS Act defines a PCBU as a “Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking”. This can be a sole trader, a company, each person in a partnership, a government department – essentially as the name implies, it’s anyone conducting a business undertaking. Why is this important? Because it’s no longer an ‘employer’ who may be responsible for heath and safety at a business, or for it’s workers. On that, the legislation has also introduced the PCBU will hold the primary duty of care. Not just for their workers, but also for those who may be carrying out the work, or those affected by the carry out of that work.

Essentially, it means the PCBU must take action to reduce or eliminate risks to health and safety – where reasonably practicable. If these risks cannot be eliminated, then it is the duty of the PCBU to mitigate those risks as far as possible.

Workers – the new ‘employee’

You might have noticed we are not talking about ‘employees’ any longer. That’s because the new act defines a worker, not an employee. Because, someone may have someone working for them, who is not an employee. So, if you’re an apprentice, and you’re employed by someone – you will be classed as a worker – not only for them, but for anyone you may be contracted to, large or small.

EGT recently released a safety alert on what all this means to you - and we will go over it next week as well.

New Penalties

The new WHS act also includes a new offence of industrial manslaughter. There are substantial penalties for this offence, for the PCBU. The new legislation also introduces what are known as enforceable undertakings, which is essentially like community service instead of paying large fines or going through the court system. This is not applicable to the industrial manslaughter charge. There are also other charges which include imprisonment, fines (large ones).

We know this can be a dry subject – however it’s important to know where you stand in regards to safety, and keeping safe on site and during the course of your work duties. Next week we will be looking into the codes of practice – and how they can affect you.