Everyone in the workplace has a work health and safety (WHS) duty.  

Everyone in the workplace has work health and safety (WHS) duties under the model WHS Act. People who work with cranes have some specific responsibilities. 

If you’re a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), you must look after your workers’ health and safety. 

If you have volunteers in your organisation, they are part of your workforce.

Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers when they are working from home. WHS duties apply even if workers request to work from home or they are working from home due to external factors (e.g.

Volunteer organisations and their volunteers have duties under work health and safety (WHS) laws. Find out what they are and get the guides for more information. 

Designing a product using safe design practices saves lives. It also reduces costs to businesses and the community. Find out how to use the methods and 5 principles of safe design. 

It is a legal requirement for every workplace to have an emergency plan. Find out what the duties are for emergency plans, including for shared workplaces. 

An

Regulators monitor and enforce WHS laws in the Commonwealth, states and territories.

If a regulator or their inspector attends your workplace and asks you to produce documents, information or answer questions, you must comply.

Regulators monitor and enforce WHS laws in your state, territory or the Commonwealth, depending on where you work.

Their inspectors visit workplaces to:

WHS regulators promote and encourage WHS compliance through a range of methods. They can also direct compliance by compelling a duty holder to remedy any identified breach or sanction a contravening duty holder.

A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work in the business or undertaking and others who may be affected by the carrying out of work, such as visitors. 

How regulators use the policy 

Regulators administer WHS laws within their jurisdiction including monitoring and enforcing compliance with WHS laws. 

Safe Work Australia developed a single set of work health and safety (WHS laws) for jurisdictions to implement across Australia. These are known as ‘model’ laws. Each state and territory, and the Commonwealth, has its own WHS laws, including an Act, regulations and codes of practice.

Background 

1. In February 2008, the then Workplace Relations Ministers Council agreed that model legislation was the most effective way to achieve harmonisation of Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws.&n

Ministers responsible for WHS asked Safe Work Australia to review the content and operation of the model WHS laws in 2018. Safe Work Australia appointed independent reviewer, Ms Marie Boland, to conduct the Review.

You have duties under WHS laws to keep people in the workplace safe if you’re: 

The model WHS laws include: 

Supply chains and networks are the web of commercial or business relationships designed to provide goods or services. An example of a supply chain is moving agricultural produce from the farm to the supermarket. 

Work health and safety (WHS) laws apply when workers work from home just as they do in traditional workplaces such as offices.

Workplace violence and aggression is when a person is abused, threatened or assaulted at the workplace or while they’re working. 

Working alone or remotely can increase the health and safety risks of any job. Workers may be isolated from support and assistance because of where or when they’re working, or the nature of their work they are doing. 

Most jobs involve some psychosocial hazards. These are the hazards that can harm workers’ mental health. 

Fatigue is more than feeling tired and drowsy. In a work context, fatigue is mental and/or physical exhaustion that reduces your ability to perform your work safely and effectively.

Excavation is dangerous work. Collapses can happen quickly, making it hard for workers and others to escape.  

Alcohol and drugs can affect a person’s ability to work safely. This includes medicines that are prescribed or over-the-counter. 

As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you have a duty to keep workers and your workplace safe. 

Demolition work is dangerous.  

Signs and records tell your workers and visitors about the hazardous chemic

Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker (or group of workers).  

Safe Work Australia is a national policy body responsible for the development and evaluation of the model WHS laws (the model laws), which are comprised of:

Safe Work Australia developed a single set of work health and safety laws (WHS laws) for jurisdictions

The model WHS laws have been implemented in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Commonwealth and Weste

This guide provides information for persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) involving the supply of workers (labour hire PCBUs) to work for another business or undertaking (host PCBUs) on complying with their health and safety duties under the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws.

This guide provides information on how the model work health and safety (WHS) laws apply to volunteers. It outlines how volunteers can meet their work health and safety duties and explains what volunteers can expect from the organisations they volunteer for. 

The model Work Health and Safety (Blood Lead Removal Levels) amended Regulations 2018 – model provisions amends:  

• R394 Meaning of lead risk work 

• R407 Frequency of biological monitoring 

This decision regulation impact statement (RIS): 

• analyses the likely impact of implementing the proposed model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act 

In 2016, amendments were made to the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations to exempt certain agricultural and veterinary (AgVet) chemical products from WHS hazardous chemical labelling requirements. 

In 2016, amendments were made to the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations to exempt certain agricultural and veterinary (AgVet) chemical products from WHS hazardous chemical labelling requirements.