Identify OH&S standards
Occupational health and safety and the law
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000
Regulations
Australian Standards
Codes of practice
Roles of OHS authorities
Commonwealth OHS authorities
Summary
Check your progress
Occupational health and safety and the law
Occupational health and safety (OHS) laws in New South Wales consist mainly of:
- a number of Acts of Parliament, and
- regulations made under those Acts.
In addition, codes of practice and Australian Standards may also contain requirements that apply in many cases.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000
The main piece of health and safety legislation in NSW is the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000. This sets out the basic requirements that employers, employees and other must follow.
The central requirement of this Act is the employer’s duty of care, that is, the duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees and other people at the workplace, including clients and visitors.
This means that employers, in consultation with workers, have to do everything they reasonably can to identify all the hazards to health and safety that could arise from their work operations. They then have to assess these hazards and decide which ones have the potential to put people’s health or safety at risk, and they have to control the risks so that no one is hurt by the work they do. They must exercise due diligence in carrying out this process. Put simply, due diligence means taking care. In the workplace, it means that employers must:
- take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers
- be able to prove to a court, if need be, that they were conscientious in implementing the processes to manage the risk to workers.
Regulations
The OHS Act 2000 contains the power to make regulations to specific areas. Some of these Regulations can cover administrative provisions and others define requirements for management of specific work issues. All necessary Details can be found in the OHS Regulation 2001 in some cases.
Some requirements in regulations state that an Australian Standard is the legal standard on a specific issue.
Australian Standards
In general terms, a standard is definite standards set criteria for performance. Australian Standards are documents setting out technical matters such as design specifications or the proper use of equipment. Australian Standards do not have the force of law unless they are adopted (‘called up’) in the legislation. According to Standards Australia AS 1470-1996, Health and safety at work-Principles and practices The achievement of an enterprise’s aim of a healthy and safe workplace can be assisted by establishing and maintaining standard procedures and by setting goals for improvement in the enterprise’s health and safety records. Such standard procedures may be classified into three groups ie operating procedures, maintenance procedure management, and supervisory procedures, so that all aspects of work are covered. Standards Australia AS 1470-1996 defines standard procedures as specific instructions prepared for the purpose of providing for operations or processes to be carried out in a safe manner. A standard is an established and accepted process for undertaking an activity. It should be understood that the established standard may not guarantee safety, but provides a basic set of processes which may require addition, depending on circumstances. (NSCA October 2002, p 39)
Standards Australia is a not-for-profit organisation and is internationally recognised as a leader in the facilitation of standardised solutions. Through the collective expertise of stakeholders, it works to meet the community’s expectations for a safe and sustainable environment and to enhance Australia’s economic efficiency and international competitiveness. Through its consensus based Standards development process, which sees agreement reached between more than 9000 technical committee representatives from industry bodies, trade associations, government and consumer groups, the national Standards body continues to provide high-level technical and business knowledge to the Australian community. (
Codes of practice
Most states and territories in Australia have approved codes of practice that do not require an immediate regulation. Some of these codes consist of a particular Australian Standard. Codes of practice provide practical guidance and advice on how to achieve the standard required by the Act and Regulation. Codes of practice are developed through consultation with representatives from industry, workers and employers, special interest groups and government agencies.
It may cause confusion, in that some standards are called Codes of Practice. Though they are not approved codes, they may be used as guidance for compliance with general duty of care requirements. Many other organisations produce Codes of Practice eg Code of Practice for Broadcasting. (NSCA October 2002 p 77)
Roles of OHS authorities
Occupational health and safety is a State responsibility, that is, the OHS authorities in the various States and Territories are responsible for administering and enforcing the law. In New South Wales, the responsible agency is the WorkCover Authority of New South Wales, known as WorkCover NSW.
Commonwealth OHS authorities
There are two OHS authorities at the Commonwealth level, Comcare Australia and the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (which used to be known as Worksafe Australia). Comcare Australia is responsible for administering and enforcing the legislation applying to employees of the Federal Government, or Federal agencies or organisations.
The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission is not involved in enforcement activities, so does not have inspectors. It carries out research and oversees the development of National Standards and National Codes of Practice which may then be adopted in the legislation of the various States and Territories. The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission has tried to encourage greater uniformity of requirements across the States and Territories, that is, to foster the development of consistent rules and regulations across the country, instead of having nine different sets of OHS legislation (one for each of the six states, two territories, and the Commonwealth).
Summary
OHS Standards are set for Australian workplaces in order to establish definite criteria for all health and safety performance in that workplace. These criteria standards include legislation, Codes of Practice and Australian Standards.
Check your progress
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Reading: Identify OH&S standards1
2005