Working Towards a Harmonised Health & Safety Model
Over the past three years, the Safety Australia Council has been developing a national Workplace Health & Safety model to bring all states into alignment. Although it has not yet been published, it has been approved and this new harmonised OH&S legislation is due to come into effect on January 21st 2012.
At NCSI’s recent conference, Client Manager Kimia Mozaffarian outlined the implication of these changes, and how she is helping her clients prepare for the rollout.
Why do we need a national system?
Currently, each state has different requirements for occupational health & safety, and this is challenging for businesses with multiple stakeholders in different geographic locations. The new system will reduce red tape and make it simpler for all employers to comply with workplace health and safety laws.
It also removes the ‘grey areas’ that currently exist in some state legislation, by broadening the definition of who has duty of care, and who is affected by these requirements.
What will the changes involve?
In general terms responsibilities will be more clearly defined. All employers, workers, volunteers, and anyone who performs an undertaking for business or charity, is included in the new requirements.
Employers are now known as ‘Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking’, or PCBUs, and include anyone with workplace management responsibilities, including corporations, associations, partnerships, labour hire businesses and franchisees. Sub-sets of this group include designers, manufacturers, suppliers, importers and construction contractors.
Employees are now known as ‘workers’ and include employees, independent contractors, apprentices, outworkers, trainees, work experience students and volunteers. All groups have a defined duty of care.
These duties involve effective risk management, based on good communication and co-ordination, and represent standard good practice even though they are new in law.
How will the changes impact my business?
Kimia is already asking her clients to conduct a Gap Analysis to prepare for these changes, ensuring they are reviewing their technical processes and policies against the new regulations.
“Any organisation that has been complying with OH&S requirements will be able to easily apply the new requirements,” she says. “Industries who engage contractors may be impacted more, and each sector will also apply their own regulations and code of practice.”
It’s important to understand your new duty of care, and how it applies to all stakeholders with levels of responsibility throughout the chain. Stakeholders such as suppliers or designers have not been specifically mentioned in requirements previously.
Each state will be impacted differently, depending on their current requirements. Ross Woodward, Senior Client Manager for NCSI in Perth, says the WA government is not happy with some of the elements of the process and is seeking an extension on the deadline. This means there is still time for further changes to the Model Act.
He says the most important consideration is the imposition of a positive duty on officers (rather than directors) to take all reasonable steps to ensure workplace health and safety. Given that breaches could involve prosecution for a criminal offence as well as higher fines, it’s important that both employees and PCBUs understand all their obligations.
To find out how NCS International can help your business prepare for these changes, please contact us at info@ncsi.com.au
