Work health and safety in Western Australia, with the evidence for every duty.

A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of the workers it engages or whose work it influences or directs while they are at work, and that other people are not put at risk by its work. This includes a safe work environment; safe plant, structures and systems of work; the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances; adequate welfare facilities and access to them; the information, training, instruction and supervision needed to protect people; and monitoring workers' health and workplace conditions. It must also maintain accommodation it owns or controls that workers need to occupy, and a self-employed person must ensure their own health and safety at work.

s 19(1)–(5)

Each officer of a PCBU must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its duties and obligations. Due diligence includes reasonable steps to keep up to date with WHS matters, understand the operations and their hazards and risks, ensure the PCBU has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks, ensure it has processes for receiving and promptly responding to information about incidents, hazards and risks, ensure it has and implements processes for complying with its duties, and verify that those resources and processes are provided and used. An officer can be convicted whether or not the PCBU is.

s 27(1), (4), (5)

While at work, a worker must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that their acts or omissions don't adversely affect others, comply so far as they reasonably can with the PCBU's reasonable instructions, and cooperate with its reasonable health and safety policies and procedures that have been notified to workers.

s 28

Anyone at a workplace, such as a visitor, must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that their acts or omissions don't adversely affect others, and comply so far as they reasonably can with the PCBU's reasonable instructions.

s 29

A PCBU commits the crime of industrial manslaughter if its conduct fails to comply with its health and safety duty and causes an individual's death, and it engages in the conduct knowing it is likely to cause death or serious harm and in disregard of that likelihood. An officer commits the crime if the PCBU's conduct is attributable to the officer's neglect or engaged in with their consent or connivance, and the officer acts knowing the PCBU's conduct is likely to cause death or serious harm and in disregard of that. The maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment and a $5,000,000 fine for an individual, or a $10,000,000 fine for a body corporate. A person charged may instead be convicted of a Category 1, 2 or 3 offence.

s 30A(1)–(4)

Where more than one person has a duty about the same matter, each of them must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with all the others.

s 46

A PCBU must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult the workers who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a WHS matter, following any agreed consultation procedures. Consulting means sharing relevant information, giving workers a reasonable opportunity to express views, raise issues and contribute to decisions, taking their views into account and telling them the outcome in a timely way. Where workers have a health and safety representative, the consultation must involve the representative so far as is reasonably practicable, at times and places convenient for both. It is required when identifying hazards and assessing risks, deciding how to eliminate or minimise risks, deciding on welfare facilities, proposing changes that may affect health or safety, and deciding procedures for consultation, issue resolution, monitoring health and workplace conditions, and information and training.

ss 47(1)–(3), 48(1)–(2), 49

A worker may ask the PCBU to facilitate an election of health and safety representatives. The PCBU must then facilitate the determination of work groups by negotiation with the workers, take all reasonable steps to start the negotiations within 14 days of the request, negotiate with a worker's representative if the worker asks, and provide the resources, facilities and assistance reasonably necessary for the election.

ss 50, 51(1), 52(1), (2), (5), 61(4)

A PCBU must establish a health and safety committee within 2 months after being asked to by a health and safety representative, or by 5 or more workers, at the workplace, or when the regulations require one. At least half its members must be workers not nominated by the PCBU.

ss 75(1), 76(4)

When a WHS issue isn't resolved by discussion, the parties must make reasonable efforts to achieve a timely, final and effective resolution under the agreed procedure or, if there is none, the default procedure in the regulations. The PCBU's representative must not be a health and safety representative and must be senior and competent enough to act. An agreed procedure must include the default procedure's steps, be in writing and be communicated to every worker it applies to. A party may ask the regulator to appoint an inspector, who must decide the issue no later than 2 days after the request; the decision is taken to be the parties' agreed resolution, and the regulator may refuse a request where reasonable efforts to resolve the issue haven't been made.

ss 80(2), 81(1)–(2), 82(1), (3)–(5) (with regulations regs 22–23)

A notifiable incident is the death of a person, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident. A serious injury or illness is one requiring immediate treatment as a hospital in-patient; immediate treatment for an amputation, a serious head, eye or spinal injury, a serious burn, degloving or scalping, loss of a bodily function or serious lacerations; or treatment by a medical practitioner within 48 hours of exposure to a substance. Western Australia adds an injury or illness in a remote location that needs an urgent transfer to a medical facility, and one a medical practitioner considers likely to keep the person from their normal work for at least 10 days. A dangerous incident exposes someone to a serious risk from an immediate or imminent exposure to such things as an uncontrolled escape of a substance, gas, steam or pressurised substance, an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire, electric shock, something falling from height, the failure of plant that must be authorised, or the collapse of a structure, excavation or shoring.

ss 35, 36(1)(a)–(e), 37

A PCBU must ensure the regulator is notified immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident arising out of its business or undertaking has occurred, by the fastest possible means, by telephone or in writing. A person notifying by telephone must give the details the regulator asks for and, if the regulator requires, a written notice within 48 hours of the requirement. A written notice must be in the form, or contain the details, the regulator approves.

s 38(1)–(5)

The person with management or control of a workplace where a notifiable incident has occurred must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the site (including any associated plant, substance, structure or thing) isn't disturbed until an inspector arrives or an earlier time an inspector directs. This doesn't prevent action to help an injured person, remove a deceased person, make the site safe or minimise the risk of a further notifiable incident, assist a police investigation, or that an inspector or the regulator has permitted.

s 39(1)–(3)

A PCBU must keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the day notice of the incident is given to the regulator.

s 38(7)

A duty to ensure health and safety requires eliminating risks so far as is reasonably practicable and, if that isn't reasonably practicable, minimising them so far as is reasonably practicable. A duty holder must identify reasonably foreseeable hazards; where risks can't be eliminated, minimise them by substitution, isolation or engineering controls, then administrative controls, then personal protective equipment; keep control measures effective, fit for purpose and correctly installed and used; and review and as necessary revise them, including when they don't control the risk.

regs 34, 35, 36(3)–(5), 37, 38(1)–(2) (with Act s 17)

A PCBU must manage psychosocial risks (risks from hazards arising from the design or management of work, the work environment, plant, or workplace interactions or behaviours that may cause psychological harm) under the risk management regulations, other than the hierarchy of controls. It must implement control measures to eliminate psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable or, if not, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable, having regard to the duration, frequency and severity of exposure, how hazards interact, the design and systems of work, the workplace and any workers' accommodation, plant, substances and structures, workplace interactions or behaviours, and the information, training, instruction and supervision given.

regs 55A, 55B, 55C, 55D(1A)–(2)

A PCBU must ensure the information, training and instruction it gives a worker is suitable and adequate for the nature of the work, its risks at the time and the control measures implemented, and, so far as is reasonably practicable, readily understandable by the people it is given to. It must keep records of information, training and instruction given to a worker about a hazardous chemical the worker is likely to be exposed to for 7 years.

reg 39(1)–(4)

A PCBU must ensure general construction induction training is given to a worker it engages to carry out construction work who hasn't completed it, or who completed it more than 2 years ago and hasn't done construction work in the past 2 years. It must not direct or allow a worker to carry out construction work unless the worker has completed the training (and, if more than 2 years ago, has done construction work in the past 2 years), and must ensure the worker holds a general construction induction training card or, while a card is being issued, a certification issued within the past 60 days.

regs 316, 317(1)–(2)

A PCBU at a workplace must ensure first aid equipment is provided and each worker can access it, there is access to facilities for administering first aid, and an adequate number of workers are trained to administer first aid or workers can access an adequate number of other trained people, having regard to the nature of the work and hazards, the size and location of the workplace and the number and composition of people there.

reg 42(1)–(3)

A PCBU at a workplace must ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace providing for emergency procedures (an effective response, evacuation, notifying emergency services at the earliest opportunity, medical treatment and assistance, and communication between the emergency coordinator and everyone at the workplace), testing of the procedures and how often, and information, training and instruction for relevant workers. It must maintain the plan so it remains effective and implement it in an emergency.

reg 43(1)–(4)

A PCBU at a workplace must ensure a register of hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored there is prepared, kept at the workplace and kept up to date, listing each chemical with its current safety data sheet, and that it is readily accessible to workers involved with the chemicals and anyone else likely to be affected. Chemicals in transit (unless significantly or frequently present) and consumer products that don't need a safety data sheet are excluded.

reg 346(1)–(4)

A person must not carry out a class of high risk work without a high risk work licence for that class, except as reg 82 allows. A PCBU must not direct or allow a worker to carry out, or supervise, high risk work unless it sees written evidence of the worker's licence (or of the training or certification reg 82 allows), and must keep a record of that evidence for at least 1 year after the work or supervision.

regs 81, 85(1)–(4)

Before high risk construction work starts, the PCBU must ensure a safe work method statement is prepared (or has already been prepared by another person) that identifies the work, specifies its hazards and risks, and describes the control measures and how they will be implemented, monitored and reviewed, taking account of the workplace's circumstances and any WHS management plan, in a form readily accessible and understandable to its users. The PCBU must put arrangements in place to ensure the work follows the statement and, if it doesn't, stop the work immediately or as soon as it is safe and resume it only in accordance with the statement.

regs 299(1)–(3), 300(1)–(2)

The person with management or control of a workplace must ensure an asbestos register is prepared, kept at the workplace and kept up to date. It records asbestos or asbestos-containing material identified or likely to be present, with the date identified and its location, type and condition, or states that none is identified. It isn't needed for a building constructed on or after 31 December 2003 where no asbestos has been identified and none is likely to be present.

reg 425(1)–(6)