QLD Work Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 Passed

Posted onAuthortony

The QLD parliament has passed the Work Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015. The Bill implements election commitments made by the Government as part of the Improving safety for Queenslanders at work policy.

In particular, the Government committed to restoring elements of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) that were changed following a review of the model work health and safety (WHS) laws in 2012. This includes:

  • allow WHS entry permit holders to enter a workplace immediately if they suspect a contravention has occurred and provide notice of entry as soon as is reasonably practicable afterwards, removing the requirement to provide at least 24 hours’ notice of entry;
  • reinstate the power for a trained HSR to direct a worker in their work group to cease work if they have a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose the worker to a serious risk to their health and safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard. This will restore consistency with the model WHS laws;
  • allow HSRs to request the assistance of any person, removing the requirement for at least 24 hours’ notice if the assistant requires access the workplace;
  • remove the penalty for failing to provide notice of entry to inquire into a suspected contravention of the WHS Act, consult and advise workers and make copies of documents relevant to a suspected contravention. This penalty does not exist in the model WHS laws;
  • decrease the maximum penalty for contravening WHS entry permit conditions from 200 penalty units to 100 penalty units, to restore consistency with the model WHS laws;
  • reinstate a requirement from the repealed Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 for the regulator to be notified of workplace injuries that result in a worker being off work for more than four days; and for employers to notify the regulator when a worker is absent for more than four days due to a workplace injury; and
  • improving electrical safety by re-instating the Electrical Safety Commissioner, Electrical Safety Education Committee, Electrical Equipment Committee which were abolished in 2012.