Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 29 — Duties of other persons at the workplace
A person at a workplace (whether or not the person has another duty under this Part) must: (a) take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety; and (b) take reasonable care that his or her…
Section 30 — Health and safety duty
In this Division, health and safety duty means a duty imposed under Division 2, 3 or 4 of this Part.
Section 30A — Industrial manslaughter
(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is: (i) a person conducting a business or undertaking; or (ii) an officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking; and (b) the person has a…
Section 31 — Negligence or reckless conduct—Category 1
(1) A person commits a Category 1 offence if: (a) the person has a health and safety duty; and (b) the person, without reasonable excuse, engages in conduct that: (i) exposes an individual to whom…
Section 32 — Failure to comply with health and safety duty—Category 2
A person commits a Category 2 offence if: (a) the person has a health and safety duty; and (b) the person fails to comply with that duty; and (c) the failure exposes an individual to a risk of death…
Section 33 — Failure to comply with health and safety duty—Category 3
A person commits a Category 3 offence if: (a) the person has a health and safety duty; and (b) the person fails to comply with that duty. Penalty: The category 3 monetary penalty.
Section 34 — Exceptions
(1) A volunteer does not commit an offence under this Division for a failure to comply with a health and safety duty, except a duty under section 28 or 29. (2) An unincorporated association does not…
Section 35 — What is a notifiable incident
In this Act, notifiable incident means: (a) the death of a person; or (b) a serious injury or illness of a person; or (c) a dangerous incident.
Section 36 — What is a serious injury or illness
In this Part, serious injury or illness of a person means an injury or illness requiring the person to have: (a) immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital; or (b) immediate treatment for:…
Section 37 — What is a dangerous incident
In this Part, a dangerous incident means an incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person’s health or safety emanating from an immediate…
Section 38 — Duty to notify of notifiable incidents
(1) A person who conducts a business or undertaking must ensure that the regulator is notified immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident arising out of the conduct of the business…
Section 39 — Duty to preserve incident sites
(1) The person with management or control of a workplace at which a notifiable incident has occurred must ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, that the site where the incident occurred is not…
Section 40 — Meaning of authorised
In this Part, authorised means authorised by a licence, permit, registration or other authority (however described) as required by the regulations.
Section 41 — Requirements for authorisation of workplaces
A person must not conduct a business or undertaking at a workplace or direct or allow a worker to carry out work at a workplace if: (a) the regulations require the workplace or workplaces in that…
Section 42 — Requirements for authorisation of plant or substance
(1) A person must not use plant or a substance at a workplace if: (a) the regulations require the plant or substance or its design to be authorised; and (b) the plant or substance or its design is…
Section 43 — Requirements for authorisation of work
(1) A person must not carry out work at a workplace if: (a) the regulations require the work, or class of work, to be carried out by, or on behalf of, a person who is authorised; and (b) the person,…
Section 44 — Requirements for prescribed qualifications or experience
(1) A person must not carry out work at a workplace if: (a) the regulations require the work, or class of work, to be carried out by, or under the supervision of, a person who has prescribed…
Section 45 — Requirement to comply with conditions of authorisation
A person must comply with the conditions of any authorisation given to that person under the regulations. Penalty: The tier C monetary penalty.
Section 46 — Duty to consult with other duty holders
If more than one person has a duty in relation to the same matter under this Act, each person with the duty must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities…
Section 47 — Duty to consult workers
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, in accordance with this Division and the regulations, with workers who carry out work for the…
Section 48 — Nature of consultation
(1) Consultation under this Division requires: (a) that relevant information about the matter is shared with workers; and (b) that workers be given a reasonable opportunity: (i) to express their…
Section 49 — When consultation is required
Consultation under this Division is required in relation to the following health and safety matters: (a) when identifying hazards and assessing risks to health and safety arising from the work…
Section 50 — Request for election of health and safety representative
A worker who carries out work for a business or undertaking may ask the person conducting the business or undertaking to facilitate the conduct of an election for 1 or more health and safety…
Section 51 — Determination of work groups
(1) If a request is made under section 50, the person conducting the business or undertaking must facilitate the determination of 1 or more work groups of workers. (2) The purpose of determining a…
Section 52 — Negotiations for agreement for work group
(1) A work group is to be determined by negotiation and agreement between: (a) the person conducting the business or undertaking; and (b) the workers who are proposed to form the work group or their…
Section 53 — Notice to workers
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking involved in negotiations to determine a work group must, as soon as practicable after the negotiations are completed, notify the workers of the…
Section 54 — Failure of negotiations
(1) If there is a failure of negotiations (including negotiations concerning the variation of an agreement), any person who is or would be a party to the negotiations may ask the regulator to appoint…
Section 55 — Determination of work groups of multiple businesses
(1) Work groups may be determined for workers carrying out work for 2 or more persons conducting businesses or undertakings at 1 or more workplaces. (2) The particulars of the work groups are to be…
Section 56 — Negotiation of agreement for work groups of multiple businesses
(1) Negotiations concerning work groups under this Subdivision must be directed only at the following: (a) the number and composition of work groups to be represented by health and safety…
Section 57 — Notice to workers
(1) A person conducting a business or undertaking involved in negotiations to determine a work group must, as soon as practicable after the negotiations are completed, notify the workers of the…
Section 58 — Withdrawal from negotiations or agreement involving multiple businesses
(1) A party to a negotiation for an agreement, or to an agreement, concerning a work group under this Subdivision may withdraw from the negotiation or agreement at any time by giving reasonable…
Section 59 — Effect of Subdivision on other arrangements
To avoid doubt, nothing in this Subdivision affects the capacity of 2 or more persons conducting businesses or undertakings and their workers to enter into other agreements or make other…
Section 60 — Eligibility to be elected
A worker is: (a) eligible to be elected as a health and safety representative for a work group only if he or she is a member of that work group; and (b) not eligible to be elected as a health and…
Section 61 — Procedure for election of health and safety representatives
(1) The workers in a work group may determine how an election of a health and safety representative for the work group is to be conducted. (2) However, an election must comply with the procedures (if…
Section 62 — Eligibility to vote
(1) A health and safety representative for a work group is to be elected by members of that work group. (2) All workers in a work group are entitled to vote for the election of a health and safety…
Section 63 — When election not required
If the number of candidates for election as a health and safety representative for a work group equals the number of vacancies, the election need not be conducted and each candidate is to be taken to…
Section 64 — Term of office of health and safety representative
(1) A health and safety representative for a work group holds office for 3 years. (2) However a person ceases to hold office as a health and safety representative for a work group if: (a) the person…
Section 65 — Disqualification of health and safety representatives
(1) An application may be made to a court to disqualify a health and safety representative on the ground that the representative has: (a) exercised a power or performed a function as a health and…
Section 66 — Immunity of health and safety representatives
A health and safety representative is not personally liable for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith: (a) in exercising a power or performing a function under this Act; or (b) in the…
Section 67 — Deputy health and safety representatives
(1) Each deputy health and safety representative for a work group is to be elected in the same way as a health and safety representative for the work group. (2) If the health and safety…
Section 68 — Powers and functions of health and safety representatives
(1) The powers and functions of a health and safety representative for a work group are: (a) to represent the workers in the work group in matters relating to work health and safety; and (b) to…
Section 69 — Powers and functions generally limited to the particular work group
(1) A health and safety representative for a work group may exercise powers and perform functions under this Act only in relation to matters that affect, or may affect, workers in that group. (2)…
Section 70 — General obligations of person conducting business or undertaking
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking must: (a) consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, on work health and safety matters with any health and safety representative for a work…
Section 71 — Exceptions from obligations under section 70(1)
(1) This section applies despite section 70(1). (2) The person conducting a business or undertaking must not allow a health and safety representative to have access to any personal or medical…
Section 72 — Obligation to train health and safety representatives
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking must, if requested by a health and safety representative for a work group for that business or undertaking, allow the health and safety…
Section 73 — Obligation to share costs if multiple businesses or undertakings
(1) If a health and safety representative, or deputy health and safety representative (if any), represents a work group of workers carrying out work for 2 or more persons conducting businesses or…
Section 74 — List of health and safety representatives
(1) A person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure that: (a) a list of each health and safety representative and deputy health and safety representative (if any) for each work group of…
Section 75 — Health and safety committees
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking at a workplace must establish a health and safety committee for the business or undertaking or part of the business or undertaking: (a) within 2…
Section 76 — Constitution of committee
(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), the constitution of a health and safety committee may be agreed between the person conducting the business or undertaking and the workers at the workplace. (2)…
Section 77 — Functions of committee
The functions of a health and safety committee are: (a) to facilitate co-operation between the person conducting a business or undertaking and workers in instigating, developing and carrying out…