Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 226 — Decision of internal reviewer
(1) The internal reviewer must review the reviewable decision and make a decision as soon as is reasonably practicable and within 14 days after the application for internal review is received. (2)…
Section 227 — Decision on internal review
As soon as practicable after reviewing the decision, the internal reviewer must give the applicant in writing: (a) the decision on the internal review; and (b) the reasons for the decision.
Section 228 — Stays of reviewable decisions on internal review
(1) An application for an internal review of a reviewable decision (other than a decision to issue a prohibition notice or a non-disturbance notice) stays the operation of the decision. (2) If an…
Section 229 — Application for external review
(1) An eligible person may apply to the Fair Work Commission for review (an external review) of: (a) a reviewable decision made by the regulator; or (b) a decision made, or taken to have been made,…
Section 230 — Prosecutions
(1) Subject to subsection (4), proceedings for an offence against this Act may only be brought by: (a) the regulator; or (b) an inspector with the written authorisation of the regulator (either…
Section 231 — Procedure if prosecution is not brought
(1) This section applies if: (a) a person: (i) reasonably considers that the occurrence of an act, matter or thing constitutes a Category 1 offence, a Category 2 offence or an offence against…
Section 232 — Limitation period for prosecutions
(1) Proceedings for an offence against this Act may be brought within the latest of the following periods to occur: (a) within 2 years after the offence first comes to the notice of the regulator;…
Section 233 — Multiple contraventions of health and safety duty provision
(1) Two or more contraventions of a health and safety duty provision by a person that arise out of the same factual circumstances may be charged as a single offence or as separate offences. (2) This…
Section 234 — Application of this Division
This Division applies if a court convicts a person, or finds a person guilty (the offender), of an offence against this Act.
Section 235 — Orders generally
(1) One or more orders may be made under this Division against the offender. (2) Orders may be made under this Division in addition to any penalty that may be imposed or any other action that may be…
Section 236 — Adverse publicity orders
(1) The court may make an order (an adverse publicity order) in relation to the offender requiring the offender: (a) to take either or both of the following actions within the period specified in the…
Section 237 — Orders for restoration
(1) The court may order the offender to take such steps as are specified in the order, within the period so specified, to remedy any matter caused by the commission of the offence that appears to the…
Section 238 — Work health and safety project orders
(1) The court may make an order requiring the offender to undertake a specified project for the general improvement of work health and safety within the period specified in the order. (2) The order…
Section 239 — Release on the giving of a court-ordered WHS undertaking
(1) The court may (with or without recording a conviction) adjourn the proceeding for a period of up to 2 years and make an order for the release of the offender on the offender giving an undertaking…
Section 240 — Injunctions
If a court finds a person guilty of an offence against this Act, the court may issue an injunction requiring the person to cease contravening this Act. Note: An injunction may also be obtained under…
Section 241 — Training orders
The court may make an order requiring the person to undertake or arrange for 1 or more workers to undertake a specified course of training.
Section 242 — Offence to fail to comply with order
(1) A person must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with an order under this Division. Penalty: The tier B monetary penalty. (2) Subsection (1) places an evidential burden on the accused…
Section 243 — Infringement notices
(1) If an inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has contravened a provision enforceable under this Division, the inspector may give to the person an infringement notice for the…
Section 243A — Matters to be included in an infringement notice
(1) An infringement notice must: (a) be identified by a unique number; and (b) state the day on which it is given; and (c) state the name of the person to whom the notice is given; and (d) state the…
Section 243B — Extension of time to pay amount
(1) A person to whom an infringement notice has been given may apply to the regulator for an extension of the period referred to in section 243A(1)(h). (2) If the application is made before the end…
Section 243C — Withdrawal of an infringement notice
Representations seeking withdrawal of notice (1) A person to whom an infringement notice has been given may make written representations to the regulator seeking the withdrawal of the notice.…
Section 243D — Effect of payment of amount
(1) If the person to whom an infringement notice for an alleged contravention of a provision is given pays the amount stated in the notice before the end of the period referred to in section…
Section 243E — Effect of this Division
This Division does not: (a) require an infringement notice to be given to a person for an alleged contravention of a provision enforceable under this Division; or (b) affect the liability of a person…
Section 244 — Definitions
In this Division: authorised person, for a body corporate, means an officer, employee or agent of the body corporate acting within the officer’s, employee’s or agent’s actual or apparent authority.…
Section 244A — Physical elements
The conduct constituting the physical element of an offence is taken to have been engaged in by a body corporate if the conduct is engaged in by: (a) the body corporate’s board of directors; or (b)…
Section 244BA — Negligence
(1) The test of negligence for a body corporate is that set out in section 5.5 of the Criminal Code. (2) If: (a) negligence is a fault element in relation to a physical element of an offence; and (b)…
Section 244B — Fault elements other than negligence
(1) If it is necessary to establish that a body corporate had a state of mind in relation to a physical element of an offence, it is sufficient to show that: (a) the body corporate’s board of…
Section 244C — Mistake of fact
If mistake of fact is relevant to determining liability for an offence, a body corporate may rely on mistake of fact only if: (a) the employee, agent or officer of the body corporate who engaged in…
Section 244D — Failure to take reasonable precautions
For the purposes of subsection 244B(2) and paragraph 244C(b), a failure to take reasonable precautions may be evidenced by the fact that the conduct constituting the offence was substantially…
Section 244E — How this Division applies to public authorities
If a body corporate is a public authority, this Division applies in relation to the body corporate in accordance with section 251.
Section 245 — Definitions
In this Division: authorised person, for the Commonwealth, means an officer, employee or agent of the Commonwealth acting within the officer’s, employee’s or agent’s actual or apparent authority.…
Section 245A — Offences and the Commonwealth—physical elements
The conduct constituting the physical element of an offence is taken to have been engaged in by the Commonwealth if the conduct is engaged in by: (a) the executive of an agency of the Commonwealth;…
Section 245BA — Offences and the Commonwealth—negligence
(1) The test of negligence for the Commonwealth is that set out in section 5.5 of the Criminal Code. (2) If: (a) negligence is a fault element in relation to a physical element of an offence; and (b)…
Section 245B — Offences and the Commonwealth—fault elements other than negligence
(1) If it is necessary to establish that the Commonwealth had a state of mind in relation to a physical element of an offence, it is sufficient to show that: (a) the executive of an agency of the…
Section 245C — Offences and the Commonwealth—mistake of fact
If mistake of fact is relevant to determining liability for an offence, the Commonwealth may rely on mistake of fact only if: (a) the employee, agent or officer of the Commonwealth who engaged in the…
Section 245D — Offences and the Commonwealth—failure to take reasonable precautions
For the purposes of subsection 245B(2) and paragraph 245C(b), a failure to take reasonable precautions may be evidenced by the fact that the conduct constituting the offence was substantially…
Section 245E — Offences and the Commonwealth—penalties
If the Commonwealth is guilty of an offence against this Act, the penalty to be imposed on the Commonwealth is the penalty applicable to a body corporate.
Section 246 — WHS civil penalty provisions and the Commonwealth
(1) If the Commonwealth contravenes a WHS civil penalty provision, the monetary penalty to be imposed on the Commonwealth is the penalty applicable to a body corporate. (2) For the purposes of a WHS…
Section 247 — Officers
(1) A person who makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of a business or undertaking of the Commonwealth is taken to be an officer of the…
Section 248 — Responsible agency for the Commonwealth
(1) A provisional improvement notice, improvement notice, prohibition notice, non-disturbance notice, infringement notice or notice of entry under Part 7 to be given to or served on the Commonwealth…
Section 249 — Application to public authorities that are bodies corporate
This Division applies only to public authorities that are bodies corporate.
Section 250 — Proceedings against public authorities
(1) Proceedings may be brought under this Act against a public authority in its own name. (2) Nothing in this Division affects any privileges that a public authority may have under the Crown.
Section 251 — Offences and public authorities
(1) Division 4 of this Part (which deals with offences by bodies corporate) applies in relation to a public authority that is a body corporate in the same way that the Division applies in relation to…
Section 252 — Officer of public authority
A person who makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the business or undertaking of a public authority is taken to be an officer of the public…
Section 253 — Proceedings against successors to public authorities
(1) Proceedings for an offence against this Act that were instituted against a public authority before its dissolution, or that could have been instituted against a public authority if not for its…
Section 254 — When is a provision a WHS civil penalty provision
(1) A subsection of Part 7 (or a section of Part 7 that is not divided into subsections) is a WHS civil penalty provision if: (a) the words “WHS civil penalty provision” and a penalty, expressed as a…
Section 255 — Proceedings for contravention of WHS civil penalty provision
Subject to this Division, proceedings may be brought in a court against a person for a contravention of a WHS civil penalty provision.
Section 256 — Involvement in contravention treated in same way as actual contravention
(1) A person who is involved in a contravention of a WHS civil penalty provision is taken to have contravened that provision. (2) A person is involved in a contravention of a civil penalty provision…
Section 257 — Contravening a civil penalty provision is not an offence
A contravention of a WHS civil penalty provision is not an offence.
Section 258 — Civil proceeding rules and procedure to apply
A court must apply the rules of evidence and procedure for civil proceedings when hearing proceedings for a contravention of a WHS civil penalty provision.