Work Health and Safety Compliance Check

The model Work Health and Safety Act (WHS Act), adopted by the Commonwealth and most Australian states and territories, places the primary duty of care on a ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others in the workplace. The WHS Act introduced a broader duty-holder framework than the previous occupational health and safety legislation — encompassing workers, contractors, labour hire workers, volunteers, and visitors. Category 1 offences (reckless conduct) attract penalties up to A$3 million for corporations and 25 years’ imprisonment for individuals; category 3 (failure to comply with duty) up to A$500,000 for corporations.

Workplace health and safety is regulated differently across Australian jurisdictions: Victoria retains its Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 rather than the model WHS Act, and Western Australia adopted the model WHS Act in March 2022. Safe Work Australia publishes codes of practice that, while not legally binding, are admissible as evidence of what is reasonably practicable. The WHS Act’s broad definition of ‘worker’ means obligations extend to contractors, subcontractors, labour hire workers, and volunteers — a common area of non-compliance.

Use this free tool to check your organisation’s Work Health and Safety compliance and get a clear action plan for meeting your primary duty of care obligations under the WHS Act.