Work health and safety

On 1 January 2012, the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) came into effect, replacing the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (Cth). This model legislation was developed by the Commonwealth government to harmonise workplace health and safety laws across Australia.

The object of the harmonisation of work health and safety laws, according to the Explanatory Memorandum – Model Work Health and Safety Bill (Safe Work Australia, 2016), is to:

• protect the health and safety of workers
• improve safety outcomes in workplaces
• reduce compliance costs for business
• improve efficiency for regulatory agencies.

For the Act to be legally binding, it must be passed by the parliament in each state and territory.

WHS laws are based on duty of care principles applied specifically to places of work. This means that everyone in a workplace has a duty and responsibility to contribute to safety. Employers have a duty to provide a safe work place; workers have a duty to follow WHS policies and procedures and to identify and report safety issues.

In community services work, depending on how the service is delivered, workplaces may include the community, a public place or the home of the person receiving the service, as well as offices, residential facilities and other buildings owned or rented by the organisation providing the service. This can make complying with WHS requirements complex. If you are working in a person’s home or in the community the focus of WHS may be on ensuring that you have safe procedures to follow rather than on controlling aspects of the physical environment.