Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 78 — Meetings of committee
A health and safety committee must meet: (a) at least once every 3 months; and (b) at any reasonable time at the request of at least half of the members of the committee.
Section 79 — Duties of person conducting business or undertaking
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking must allow each member of the health and safety committee to spend the time that is reasonably necessary to attend meetings of the committee or to…
Section 80 — Parties to an issue
(1) In this Division, parties, in relation to an issue, means the following: (a) the person conducting the business or undertaking or the person’s representative; (b) if the issue involves more than…
Section 81 — Resolution of health and safety issues
(1) This section applies if a matter about work health and safety arises at a workplace or from the conduct of a business or undertaking and the matter is not resolved after discussion between the…
Section 82 — Referral of issue to regulator for resolution by inspector
(1) This section applies if an issue has not been resolved after reasonable efforts have been made to achieve an effective resolution of the issue. (2) A party to the issue may ask the regulator to…
Section 83 — Definition of cease work under this Division
In this Division, cease work under this Division means: (a) to cease, or refuse, to carry out work under section 84; or (b) to cease work on a direction under section 85.
Section 84 — Right of worker to cease unsafe work
A worker may cease, or refuse to carry out, work if the worker has a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose the worker to a serious risk to the worker’s health or safety,…
Section 85 — Health and safety representative may direct that unsafe work cease
(1) A health and safety representative may direct a worker who is in a work group represented by the representative to cease work if the representative has a reasonable concern that to carry out the…
Section 86 — Worker to notify if ceases work
A worker who ceases work under this Division must: (a) as soon as practicable, notify the person conducting the business or undertaking that the worker has ceased work under this Division unless the…
Section 87 — Alternative work
If a worker ceases work under this Division, the person conducting the business or undertaking may direct the worker to carry out suitable alternative work at the same or another workplace if that…
Section 88 — Continuity of engagement of worker
If a worker ceases work under this Division, that action does not affect the continuity of engagement of the worker for prescribed purposes if the worker has not unreasonably failed to comply with a…
Section 89 — Request to regulator to appoint inspector to assist
The health and safety representative or the person conducting the business or undertaking or the worker may ask the regulator to appoint an inspector to attend the workplace to assist in resolving an…
Section 90 — Provisional improvement notices
(1) This section applies if a health and safety representative reasonably believes that a person: (a) is contravening a provision of this Act; or (b) has contravened a provision of this Act in…
Section 91 — Provisional improvement notice to be in writing
A provisional improvement notice must be in writing.
Section 92 — Contents of provisional improvement notice
A provisional improvement notice must state: (a) that the health and safety representative believes the person: (i) is contravening a provision of this Act; or (ii) has contravened a provision of…
Section 93 — Provisional improvement notice may give directions to remedy contravention
(1) A provisional improvement notice may include directions concerning the measures to be taken to remedy the contravention or prevent the likely contravention or the matters or activities causing…
Section 94 — Minor changes to provisional improvement notice
A health and safety representative may make minor changes to a provisional improvement notice: (a) for clarification; or (b) to correct errors or references; or (c) to reflect changes of address or…
Section 95 — Issue of provisional improvement notice
A provisional improvement notice may be issued to a person in accordance with section 209.
Section 96 — Health and safety representative may cancel notice
The health and safety representative may at any time cancel a provisional improvement notice issued to a person by written notice given to that person.
Section 97 — Display of provisional improvement notice
(1) A person to whom a provisional improvement notice is issued must as soon as practicable display a copy of the notice in a prominent place at or near the workplace, or part of the workplace, at…
Section 98 — Formal irregularities or defects in notice
A provisional improvement notice is not invalid only because of: (a) a formal defect or irregularity in the notice unless the defect or irregularity causes or is likely to cause substantial…
Section 99 — Offence to contravene a provisional improvement notice
(1) This section applies if a provisional improvement notice has been issued to a person and an inspector has not been required under section 101 to attend at the workplace. (2) The person must…
Section 100 — Request for review of provisional improvement notice
(1) Within 7 days after a provisional improvement notice is issued to a person: (a) the person to whom it was issued; or (b) if the person is a worker, the person conducting the business or…
Section 101 — Regulator to appoint inspector to review notice
(1) The regulator must ensure that an inspector attends the workplace as soon as practicable after a request is made under section 100. (2) The inspector must review the provisional improvement…
Section 102 — Decision of inspector on review of provisional improvement notice
(1) After reviewing the provisional improvement notice, the inspector must: (a) confirm the provisional improvement notice; or (b) confirm the provisional improvement notice with changes; or (c)…
Section 103 — Part does not apply to prisoners
Nothing in this Part applies to a worker who is a prisoner in custody in a prison or police gaol.
Section 104 — Prohibition of discriminatory conduct
(1) A person must not engage in discriminatory conduct for a prohibited reason. Penalty: The tier A monetary penalty. (2) A person commits an offence under subsection (1) only if the reason referred…
Section 105 — What is discriminatory conduct
(1) For the purposes of this Part, a person engages in discriminatory conduct if: (a) the person: (i) dismisses a worker; or (ii) terminates a contract for services with a worker; or (iii) puts a…
Section 106 — What is a prohibited reason
Conduct referred to in section 105 is engaged in for a prohibited reason if it is engaged in because the worker or prospective worker or the person referred to in section 105(1)(c) or (d) (as the…
Section 107 — Prohibition of requesting, instructing, inducing, encouraging, authorising or assisting discriminatory conduct
(1) A person must not request, instruct, induce, encourage, authorise or assist another person to engage in discriminatory conduct in contravention of section 104. Penalty: The tier A monetary…
Section 108 — Prohibition of coercion or inducement
(1) A person must not organise or take, or threaten to organise or take, any action against another person with intent to coerce or induce the other person, or a third person: (a) to exercise or not…
Section 109 — Misrepresentation
(1) A person must not knowingly or recklessly make a false or misleading representation to another person about that other person’s: (a) rights or obligations under this Act; or (b) ability to…
Section 110 — Proof of discriminatory conduct
(1) This section applies if in proceedings for an offence of contravening section 104 or 107, the prosecution: (a) proves that the discriminatory conduct was engaged in; and (b) proves that a…
Section 111 — Order for compensation or reinstatement
If a person is convicted or found guilty of an offence under section 104 or 107, the court may (in addition to imposing a penalty) make either or both of the following orders: (a) an order that the…
Section 112 — Civil proceedings in relation to engaging in or inducing discriminatory or coercive conduct
(1) An eligible person may apply to a court for an order under this section. (2) The court may make 1 or more of the orders set out in subsection (3) in relation to a person who has: (a) engaged in…
Section 113 — Procedure for civil actions for discriminatory conduct
(1) A proceeding brought under section 112 must be commenced not more than 1 year after the date on which the applicant knew or ought to have known that the cause of action accrued. (2) In a…
Section 114 — General provisions relating to orders
(1) The making of an order in a proceeding under section 112 in relation to conduct referred to in section 112(2)(a) or (b) does not prevent the bringing of a proceeding for an offence under section…
Section 115 — Prohibition of multiple actions
A person cannot: (a) commence a proceeding under Division 3 of this Part if the person has commenced a proceeding or made an application or complaint in relation to the same matter under a law of the…
Section 116 — Definitions
In this Part: official of a union means a person who holds an office in, or is an employee of, the union. relevant person conducting a business or undertaking means a person conducting a business or…
Section 117 — Entry to inquire into suspected contraventions
(1) A WHS entry permit holder may enter a workplace for the purpose of inquiring into a suspected contravention of this Act that relates to, or affects, a relevant worker. (2) The WHS entry permit…
Section 118 — Rights that may be exercised while at workplace
(1) While at the workplace under this Division, the WHS entry permit holder may do all or any of the following in relation to the suspected contravention of this Act: (a) inspect any work system,…
Section 119 — Notice of entry
(1) A WHS entry permit holder must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after entering a workplace under this Division, give notice of the entry and the suspected contravention, in accordance with…
Section 120 — Entry to inspect employee records or information held by another person
(1) This section applies if a WHS entry permit holder is entitled under section 117 to enter a workplace to inquire into a suspected contravention of this Act. (2) For the purposes of the inquiry…
Section 121 — Entry to consult and advise workers
(1) A WHS entry permit holder may enter a workplace to consult on work health and safety matters with, and provide advice on those matters to, 1 or more relevant workers who wish to participate in…
Section 122 — Notice of entry
(1) Before entering a workplace under this Division, a WHS entry permit holder must give notice of the proposed entry to the relevant person conducting a business or undertaking. (2) The notice must…
Section 123 — Contravening WHS entry permit conditions
A WHS entry permit holder must not contravene a condition imposed on the WHS entry permit. WHS civil penalty provision. Penalty: The WHS civil penalty provision tier 1.
Section 124 — WHS entry permit holder must also hold permit under other law
A WHS entry permit holder must not enter a workplace unless he or she also holds an entry permit under the Fair Work Act. WHS civil penalty provision. Penalty: The WHS civil penalty provision tier 2.
Section 125 — WHS entry permit to be available for inspection
A WHS entry permit holder must, at all times that he or she is at a workplace under a right of entry under Division 2 or 3 of this Part, have his or her WHS entry permit and photographic…
Section 126 — When right may be exercised
A WHS entry permit holder may exercise a right under Division 2 or 3 of this Part only during the usual working hours at the workplace. WHS civil penalty provision. Penalty: The WHS civil penalty…
Section 127 — Where the right may be exercised
A WHS entry permit holder may exercise a right of entry to a workplace only in relation to: (a) the area of the workplace where the relevant workers work; or (b) any other work area that directly…